Meet our new non-executive director, Hilary Jennings...
What have you been doing today?
I started the day with a swim outside at Tooting Bec Lido – as it was very cold the ratio of swimming to chatting/coffee favoured latter! It’s a brilliant start to the day at the computer as it gets you outside in nature whatever the weather brings, doing something active and connecting with other people (5 Ways to Wellbeing in one!). The rest of the day I’ve been involved a mixture of professional work (Happy Museum project, freelance work and engagement with networks like CtrlShift and CHWA) and local activism (organising a screening of Power Station for Transition Tooting and setting up a fixing event at the weekend).
Is that a typical day for you?
Yes, very typical. I’m lucky to have such a mix of things in my life. I’ve been a freelancer in the cultural sector for nearly 20 years and the variety of it suits me – as well as the ability to combine paid work with local activism. I like making connections between things and get as much satisfaction and learning from work I do locally as I do from my cultural sector work – each feeds and supports the other.
When did you start working with culture, health and wellbeing, and how?
My interest in wellbeing co-incided with my eyes being opened to the climate crisis through involvement with the Transition movement – setting up a local initiative in Tooting SW London. It was evident that engaging with local activism was bringing all kinds of wellbeing benefits to individuals and the community and I was thrilled to stumble across the Happy Museum Project which was at the time groundbreaking in bringing together ideas around wellbeing and sustainability in the cultural sector. The thinking also chimed with my experience of the huge wellbeing benefits of being part of a local community (lido) choir and involvement in community theatre.
What was the last project you came across that inspired you?
I’m always inspired by those bringing people together in interestingly facilitated ways! Recent inspirations have been an event around funding for co-created work led by Arts and Homelessness International, the Decelerator bringing together individuals and organisations who are looking at how we better manage endings in organisational settings and a Democracy convention led by Citizen Network and Our House. There is so much inspiring work out there at the moment which is a great antidote to the current state of the world – and simultaneously a frustration because most of it is under the radar of the traditional media.
Hilary Jennings is a freelance cultural consultant based in London
She has particular interest in holistic approaches to the climate crisis which build connections between culture, community and wellbeing. Since 2015 she has been Director of the Happy Museum Project which explores how we might re-consider the role of museums in creating a resilient and regenerative society: facing current realities whilst bringing a positive, imaginative and future facing frame..
She has extensive experience in leadership development working on programmes with Cultural Leadership Programme, Clore Leadership, Engage and the British Council. Her work also has a strong focus on network development – she is a steering group member for the Co-Creating Change Alliance and the CtrlSHIFT network and is a past Trustee of the global Transition Network.
Hilary has been a non-executive director of CHWA since late 2025.
More details about her work can be found on her Linkedin profile.