CHRISTINA RETI
Christina Reti leads real estate and hospitality throughout EMEA at Korn Ferry and has been advising investment groups and operators globally for over 15 years. Aligning people, their ideas and their motivations with growing businesses is Christina’s passion. What excites her about her role introducing people to one another is to see magic unfold when a missing link is added to puzzle, to make things happen. Christina is known for her depth of knowledge in place-making, regeneration projects, cultural tourism and trend spotting in consumer behaviours and use of space, leveraging networks in many sectors to introduce new ideas. Previously, Ms. Reti worked at The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths as Marketing Manager and a Fakes and Forgeries specialist where she spearheaded the first International Seminars on Fakes and Forgeries and catalogued the largest Museum of Fakes and Forgeries. Ms. Reti holds a Master’s (Distinction) in Legal Studies of Art Ownership from Carlton University, Ottawa, and a Master of Letters in The History and Connoisseurship of Fine and Decorative Arts from The University of Glasgow and Christie’s Education, as well as an ARCT Diploma (Distinction) in Speech Arts and Drama from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Canada. Prior to her focusing on human talent, she advised private and public collections on repatriation, trusts and collectors’ rights. She is passionate about sustainable travel and empowering appreciation for local talent and history.
Which are your favourite emerging cultural cities and why?
For me, perhaps more than anywhere else in the UK, it’s Hull that demonstrates the significant economic and social impacts that a co-ordinated programme of arts, culture and heritage activity can have on a city – and on the pride of the residents who live in it. Stuck at the end of the M62, and as the poet Philip Larkin put it “so far from everywhere else…on the way to nowhere”, Hull seemed resigned to a future of isolation and deprivation. However, over the last decade it’s been on an amazing cultural revival, boosted by its stint as City of Culture in 2017.
The programme “challenged the worst images of the city” and was directly responsible for at least £89.3m of investment in the city, contributing to a 9.7% increase in tourism that year and a 31% rise in tourism since 2012. Annual events such as Humber Street Sesh, Freedom Festival and Pride in Hull continue to grow, as do the offers of key local cultural institutions such as Hull Truck Theatre and venues such as Ferens Art Gallery, Hull New Theatre and Hull Maritime Museum. Exciting independent bars and restaurants open weekly and the transformation of the Marina area into an eclectic artists quarter lures new talent to the city. The buzz of an overlooked, unloved city coming back to life through cultural investment and creativity is definitely something fantastic to experience!
Tell us about a cultural project with great potential for social impact.
Having spent the good part of a year, when restrictions on movement have allowed, my family and I have seized the opportunity to get to know new parts of the UK.
We have spent a lot of time discovering the Suffolk Coast & Heaths, which was designated in 1970 as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a nationally designated important landscape. With it’s impressive coastline, the area draws several visual artists, most notably Anthony Gormley, who is creating an Angel of the East to be placed on the Martello Tower at Aldeburgh, marking the 50th anniversary of the Landmark Trust. This announcement came after the artist objected to a private collector placing four of his iron bollards, “Oval, Peg, Penis and Snowman”, on the shingle beach, which drew thousands of visitors to Aldeburgh and were encouraged to encircle the bollards with washed up red bricks, celebrating Suffolk heritage, the tide and time. What struck me most about this controversial in situ placement, was that art that was not intended for that location, drew community, cultural enthusiasts and linked a county’s past with its present residents and visitors, almost ‘embedding’ itself in the local discourse. As we are reflecting more and more every day on our impact on the environment, I loved that the art encouraged this thought and reflection further as the permanence of the washed up brick was celebrated as a juxtaposition to the damage plastic has in our oceans. The pollards have subsequently been removed which saddens me because it created conversation, it brought awareness to the question of art’s purpose and the collector’s rights and autonomy over how it is showcased.
What has been your most memorable recent cultural experience?
My partner and I have five children. Catering to their varying attention spans and my quest for culturally rich experiences is a challenge. Nonetheless, our family has been drawn back to Snape Maltings, an arts complex on the banks of the River Alde at Snape, Suffolk, which is one of the main sites of the annual Aldeburgh Festival. It’s support of local visual and performing arts, providing exhibition sites, the magnificent Victorian style music hall, shops and antique centres focused on local produce and artisans, has had a huge impact on the community, encouraging artists to take up residence there. The sea air, barley swaying in the breeze and sprinkling of sculptures and installations awakens one’s own sense of appreciation of art – harmony of human creation with natural aesthetics. It’s glorious and seeing my kids able to explore the harps and wind instruments in the Early Music shop, where they are encouraged to play with the instruments, is wonderful.
Describe the perfect cultural day in your city.
We live in London. Where do you begin in a city as vast and culturally diverse as this ? We love exploring local communities anchored by a market, either with food stalls or local artisans. We love walking through Brixton Market in particular, looking at the fresh fish, the diverse vegetables and fruits you don’t get in the national chains, and eating Jerk Chicken with a side of Pho and perhaps a fish taco from the different vendors. We look at the fashion and street wear, graffiti styles and symbols, listen to buskers on the corners, buy crazy plants we’ve never seen before and come away with more questions about the world than when we set out. Discovering London’s unique communities where multi-culturalism is celebrated and encouraged is what makes this city so exciting and wets my family’s appetite to learn more about the world – religions, history, colloquial language.. when my kids as me questions that I don’t know the answer to on our way home, I know we’ve had a good day.