Joining Watts in mid-June, Topp brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of leading cultural organisations through periods of growth and transformation. Topp has held Director/ CEO roles across several organisations in the UK and Australia including Yorkshire Culture (DCMS agency), Arnolfini Gallery, Curzon Cinema and Culture Central. He is currently Director of Painshill Park Trust in Surrey.
Topp has been a Trustee of many major arts organisations and Chair of the Leach Pottery in Cornwall since 2021. He was a member of the Arts Council Midlands board from 2017-2023. He has contributed essays to numerous artists books and has wide interests across many art forms having started his career as a visual arts curator in Dorset.
Topp succeeds Interim Co-CEOs Madeline Henderson and Henry Anaele, who stepped into the leadership role in August 2025. Both Henderson and Anaele will remain integral to the organisation, resuming their roles as Head of Development and Head of Finance, ensuring continuity alongside fresh leadership.
Working closely with the executive team and the Board of Trustees, Topp will help lead Watts Gallery into its next flourishing chapter. This phase is further strengthened by the appointment of four new Trustees—Caroline Ikin, Rachael Ogden Wilson, Lysa Schwarz, and Sarah Songhurst—bringing further expertise from across the arts and charity sectors.
Sarah King, Chair of Watts Gallery Trust, said: “Gary’s appointment comes at a pivotal moment for the Gallery. The past five years have been exceptionally challenging—not just for Watts, but for the wider arts and museum sector. However in recent months we have taken the opportunity to reflect and review, building a revitalised sense of purpose and ambition.
I would like to thank our executive team and all staff and volunteers for their dedication and resilience throughout this transition. We now have a committed and capable team across both the Board and executive, and Gary brings the clarity, experience, and dynamic leadership needed as we move confidently into the next chapter. I am genuinely excited about what we can achieve together as we shape the Gallery’s fresh and vibrant future.”
Gary Topp said: “It is Watts Gallery’s extraordinary mix of heritage, nature, architecture and the work and passions of G F Watts and Mary Seton Watts, and their own commitment to the power of creativity and the arts, that makes leading the organisation such an exciting opportunity. I look forward to exploring and developing a refreshed contemporary purpose, rooted in these extraordinary historical foundations, working with our staff, volunteers and the many artists, communities and audiences across a wide range of projects and activities.”
New trustee biographies
Caroline Ikin is a curator for the National Trust with 30 years of experience in the heritage sector. She holds a PhD in English Literature and specialises in Victorian art, design, and historic landscapes. Ikin has been a visitor and supporter of Watts Gallery for over 25 years and has previously served as a Trustee for the Sussex Gardens Trust.
Rachael Ogden Wilson has served as Managing Director of an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation in the literature sector, and later led a workplace inclusion consultancy working with clients including Adidas, Mercedes F1, Dyson and Art Fund. Her work has consistently focused on widening access and using culture and organisations as forces for social progress. She now advises charities and non-profits on income generation, partnerships and sustainable growth.
Lysa Schwartz held a number of senior roles within the information publishing industry before moving to the charity sector where she was a CEO for 14 years. A resident of Guildford since 2008, she is a trustee of VTCT Skills which also utilises her skills in charity management, infrastructure and governance.
Sarah Songhurst started her career in the commercial art world before becoming a civil servant, leading teams in the DCMS, working on arts and museums policy, including funding, development, social inclusion, and education. She subsequently developed her operational and commercial experience in the charity and private sectors and is currently Chief Operating Officer at Pallant House Gallery.
Notes to Editors
The Watts Gallery Trust Director role is sponsored by the Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation.
Watts Gallery was established in 1904 by artist-couple George Frederic Watts and Mary Seton Watts. Following G F Watts death later that year Mary Seton Watts went on to found Watts Gallery Trust, the charity established to preserve the buildings and collections established by the couple and to encourage engagement with art, its history and practice, for the benefit of the public.
G F Watts OM RA (1817-1904) is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of the Victorian age. He became the first living artist to have a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the artist’s ‘gift to the Nation’ made a significant contribution to the founding collections of Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery.
Mary Watts (1848-1939) was an artist, designer, writer, businesswoman and philanthropist. Her art supported and inspired the people around her, involving local communities in her projects. She was the creative powerhouse behind two significant enterprises: the Watts Chapel and the Compton Potters’ Arts Guild.
Today, Watts Gallery continues G F and Mary Watts's legacy of Art for all by all. This vision to make art accessible to everyone is realised through a dynamic programme of creativity, exhibitions, contemporary art projects and community engagement.
wattsgallery.org.uk
For further press information:
Tamsin Williams – tamsin@tamsin-williams.com