Beth leads on the planning and delivery of Playful’s projects across the broad offer of the collective.
Her role focuses on ensuring that projects are well organised, clearly scoped and delivered smoothly, supporting clients, partners and practitioners throughout the process.
Beth’s work translates ideas into practical delivery, ensuring play experiences are responsibly implemented in real-world environments.
Dirk provides strategic, governance, business oversight and commercial expertise to Playful.
His role focuses on supporting the viability and long-term sustainability of projects, ensuring creative ambition is matched with organisational confidence.
Dirk’s involvement helps ensure that Playful’s work operates successfully within commissioning, governance and operational realities.
Jon drives the creative development and delivery of Playful’s projects across digital and physical contexts.
His role focuses on translating ambitious ideas into tangible experiences, drawing on expertise in creative production, event delivery and technical implementation.
Jon’s work ensures projects are responsibly realised, balancing creative ambition with sustainable, well-managed delivery in line with Playful’s values.
Pippa works across multiple media to create site-specific, playable artworks for heritage sites, the public realm, galleries and museums. She loves history and working with local communities to make artworks that connect people and places.
In her practice she uses a wide range of material including foam, steel, inflatables, scaffolding and even food, and frequently collaborates with industry specialists to ensure that all her artworks comply with health and safety standards whilst pushing the boundaries of materials and form.
Playshapes is a standalone artwork that invites visitors of all ages and abilities to play freely and create their own forms and environments.
Clients include The Bowes Museum, Wentworth Woodhouse, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, National Railway Museum and Humber Street Gallery.
Emma is a highly experienced play practitioner working across public, cultural and civic contexts. She designs and delivers welcoming, inclusive play experiences that respond to place, people and moment. Through Playful Anywhere, she supports towns, cities and cultural organisations to make public spaces work better for families and communities.
Her practice focuses on adaptable play systems, including Playboxes, that can be deployed across a wide range of settings — from temporary activations to longer-term installations. Grounded in over a decade of delivery, her work balances creativity with practical considerations around risk, maintenance and governance, creating play that is inclusive, robust and sustainable.
Sarah Marsh & Stephanie Jefferies (HoLD Art Collective) have backgrounds in fine art textiles, Montessori education and design for Neurodivergent and SEND audiences of all ages. Community consultation, research and observations are translated into the design of accessible and engaging sculpture and spaces; where audiences can hold or be held within the art objects HoLD create.
Recent HoLD commissions include:
Body Sensors (2026)
Somerset House
ArtPlay Pavilion (2025)
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Outdoor Play Sculpture (2026)
LFA & McMu Architects
Joy of Feeling (2025)
Tate Modern
Soft Studio (2025)
Tate Britain
Sculpting Conversations (2023) Whitechapel Gallery
HoLD Art Collective endeavours to challenge and disrupt hierarchical divisions between art and engagement.
The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.
Carl JungA play-led consultancy uses play, creativity and participation to help public and private places solve real challenges. At Playful™ we design artist-led activations and experiences that improve visitor numbers, increase dwell time and support commercial and community outcomes — not just fun for fun’s sake.
Playful™ works with venues, local authorities, cultural organisations and partners shaping public places. We support teams that need creative solutions but may be facing limited funding, capacity or in-house expertise.
We focus on outcomes that matter. Depending on the project, this can include increased footfall, longer dwell time, higher spend, audience engagement or wellbeing and community impact. Our Solid Wobble approach combines creative thinking with commercial insight, so results are purposeful and measurable.
