Guest Blog: 'PR is All About Storytelling': Chloé Nelkin of CNC on Communication, Female Empowerment and Celebrating 15 Years of Arts PR

Chloé Nelkin is the founder and director of Chloé Nelkin Consulting – an arts PR agency that she founded in 2010.  With offices in London and Edinburgh, CNC works across the UK with campaigns spanning the fields of visual arts, theatre, the Edinburgh Fringe, circus, opera, classical music and heritage.

In this guest blog for BroadwayWorld, Chloé speaks about setting up the company, the challenges to the arts industry and being a female leader.

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Some of my first memories from childhood are linked to the arts and I have always loved exploring a gallery or seeing a stage show.  I’m actually a trained singer but treading the boards was never something that appealed to me. After passing fancies of becoming an architect or a vet, I realised that a career in the arts was where my future lay. 

I started CNC in 2010, towards the tail end of my Masters degree at The Courtauld Institute of Art – where I’d also studied for my undergraduate degree in History of Art.  I stumbled into PR, almost by chance, while working on the East Wing Collection exhibition.  So much hard work was going into the exhibition that I decided I wanted more people to see this and so I started emailing journalists. 

For me, PR ticked all the boxes – communicating with people about the incredible projects in the arts but not being in the spotlight myself.  I have always been struck by the arts’ power to transform and the importance it holds in people’s lives and PR enabled me to impart this.

The last 15 years have certainly not always looked as one might have predicted. As CNC celebrated our 10th anniversary in 2020, a global pandemic was starting that would change our lives and our industry forever. We’ve seen challenges with policy and insurmountable hurdles with funding and closures. There is no doubt that 2025 will be a tough year for many and, at CNC, we constantly think how to reinvent ourselves and how to better support the people we work with in this changing climate.

Although it is difficult out there, it’s important to remember that our clients are still doing amazing things. Productions, exhibitions and arts projects can transport you to other places and times. And as PRs we stay behind the scenes, beavering away to let people know about the wonders the industry creates. I’ve been able to form and mould an agency that stays true to my own values while indulging an overwhelming passion in the arts.

When I first entered PR nearly two decades ago, the main focus was print and traditional media.  Of course, digital existed but print was always the goal. Now the world is dominated by digital - many publications have a digital-first ethos and social media has become a huge part of our outreach. Digital platforms and socials mean that the world of PR has become far more immediate. Messaging can be modified practically in real time with updates going out on the day of an event. This means we ensure our strategies change as required rather than being wedded to a set timeline. PR, for me, is all about storytelling and with so many new platforms and new ways to convey stories we have more possibilities.

As the world changes so does CNC. In the last couple of years alone we have launched an art festival in Edinburgh, opened a personal PR department and started The Pink Podcast. This month we launched CNC Books to help some of the amazing artists we work with publish their texts. Who knows what will come next.

If you’d told me 15 years ago that CNC would grow to be a team of 11 people with offices in London and Edinburgh I don’t think I’d have believed you – not because I didn’t have faith in my own abilities but because the mission was just to do what we do well and see what happens. I’m so honoured and excited that CNC has become what it is today and the people we’ve worked with are all part of that journey.

At CNC, we have a huge passion for wanting our clients to succeed which makes us think creatively about the stories we tell for them. We work collaboratively as a team, taking a deep dive into each project and finding angles that will excite people. This, along with our personal approach, and love for our work makes us stand out. We work with clients we love in an industry we adore and continuing that ethos and keeping that passion alive is what excites me. 

CNC is currently an all-female team and I hope we have fostered an environment where the amazing women who work for the company feel able to voice concerns that affect them outside the workplace. Women have remarkable abilities to communicate effectively and also to empathise with our clients and I think we are naturally very strong PRs. Women still face more issues in the workplace than we should – even last week I heard two stories that made my blood boil. As a female leader, I try to support and empower the people I work with and create a safe space where people can seek support as needed.

The arts have undergone catastrophic shifts in recent years but it is a phenomenally resilient industry with the most incredible creative visionaries and I can’t wait to see what is next and to be part of that.

Click here for more information on Chloe Nelkin Consulting.

Photo Credits: Andrew Perry

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