Kaplinsky, Helen
Helen Kaplinsky is an independent curator based in London, specialising in public
collections and commissioning emerging artists. Collections work includes as EastCoast Fellow with the Contemporary Art Society producing an exhibition at the
Whitechapel Gallery in 2013 and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art in 2014.
Working with the Arts Council Collection she curated ‘Image as Witness’ for the
European Commission (2013, London) and ‘British Modern Remade’ at Park Hill
Estate (2012, Sheffield). She has showcased emerged artists internationally
including ’Self-Interruption’ at Jack Chiles Gallery (2013, NYC), ‘When Platitudes
Become Form’ public programme at Mercer Union (2013, Toronto), ‘I Did It My
Way Way’ (2011, Ceiling Space, China), ‘Thrall’dom’ at LIMAZULU and ‘Auto
Couture’ at a bespoke automotive showroom (both London 2012). She lectures in
Art and Design history at the City Literacy Institute (London) and is currently cocurating a set of residencies based at Islington Mill (Salford, UK).
Kell, Emmie
Emmie is a freelance museums consultant who has worked in museums, art
galleries and science centres for the last 20 years. She was previously Head of
Education at Somerset House, Public Programmes Manager at MOSI, Manchester
and Learning and Communications Director at Thinktank, Birmingham Science
Museum (2003-2007). She has a proven track record in fundraising and business
planning in the cultural sector. She specialises in strategic planning to promote
sustainability and resilience. She delivers successful interpretation, learning and
audience development strategies for museums, heritage sites and cultural
organisations. She has previously been on the Board of the South Western
Federation of Museums and Art Galleries and is a member of the Institute of
Fundraising and a Fellow of the RSA.
Keys, Geof
Geof Keys is Artistic Director of Queen’s Hall Arts, based at the arts centre in
Hexham. He has over 30 years’ experience of touring and building-based work,
including stints with Orchard Theatre Company, The Stephen Joseph Theatre,
Chipping Norton Theatre and Wildcat Stage Productions. Recent directing credits
include Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night and Aesop’s Fables for Mad Alice
TC, Stuff and Bottling It for the Bite Size Theatre Programme, and the dance/visual
arts collaboration Talking Without Words. As well as his specialisation in drama,
Geof has a keen interest in dance – commissioning residencies at the Queen’s
Hall, monitoring for Arts Council England (1999 to 2002) and researching
international work under the DanceXchange programme. Geof is currently leading
a number of county-wide developments in Northumberland, including youth dance,
small-scale drama and mobile cinema.
Khan, Yasmin
Yasmin Khan is an independent cultural advisor, curator, producer and freelance
writer. Her multi-disciplinary work practice stems from a deep interest in the
cultural intersections of science, art and identity. She originally trained as a bioscientist and has a Master’s degree in Science and Culture from Birkbeck College,
London. Previously she was Interpretation Manager at the British Library and the
Curator Team Manager at the Science Museum. In 2011 Yasmin was awarded the
Wellcome Trust Creative Fellowship on the Clore Cultural Leadership Programme.
In 2012, Yasmin worked with the Mayor of London's culture team during her
secondment to Big Dance which formed a central part of the London 2012
Festival. Yasmin is the founder of Sindbad SciFi: Re-imagining Arab Science
Fiction which is an evolving creative movement initiated in partnership with the
Nour Festival of Arts. Her research interests include gender mainstreaming,
cultural diplomacy and soft power. She is a blogger for the Guardian Culture
Professional Network and exhibition reviewer for the Museums Journal.
Kiernan, Anna
Anna Kiernan is a partner at Thread, a training and creative agency
(www.wearethread.com). Anna is also a Senior Lecturer in Writing at Falmouth
University. Previously, she was Course Leader of the MA in Publishing at Kingston
University. She is a writer and editor with research expertise in contemporary
publishing and reading practices, life writing and arts journalism. Anna has worked
as an editor at publishers such as André Deutsch and Simon & Schuster. Her
publications include the anti-war anthology Voices for Peace (Scribner 2001) and
Bit on the Side: Work, Sex, Love, Loss and Own Goals (Parthian 2007), as well a
book about literary drinkers. She has also contributed to academic books and
journals and to publications such as The Guardian and The Times Literary
Supplement. Anna was a co-investigator on the AHRC-funded oral history project
Museum Lives at the Natural History Museum. She is a National Advisor at Arts
Council Wales and her first poetry chapbook, Pick Me Up, will be published by
Atlantic Press this year.
Kleiman, Gillie
Gillie Kleiman is an artist. From Gillie’s practice of dance and choreography
emerge artworks that manifest as performances, texts, and events, presented in
contexts associated with dance, theatre, live art and experimental performance,
throughout the UK and across Europe. She received a first class BA (Hons) from
the University of Surrey, was a recipient of the 2008 and 2013 danceWEB
scholarships, and held an AHRC studentship to undertake an MA in Performance
and Creative Research at Roehampton University, which she completed with
distinction in 2011. Gillie is one of eight artists who run BELLYFLOP Magazine,
and is Projects Producer at Chisenhale Dance Space. She has worked in a range
of education and community contexts for more than a decade, and moonlights as
an Artistic Assessor for Arts Council England. She is currently supported by
Artsadmin’s Artists’ Bursary Scheme.
Lane, David
David has been developing plays in a wide variety of contexts since 2002 as
dramaturg, writer, and associate tutor at Goldsmiths College and Exeter
University. He has delivered numerous workshops and writer development
programmes for regional venues, worked as a reader for West End and subsidised
London theatres and was previously the Literary Assistant at Soho Theatre. He
has worked as dramaturg with award-winning devising companies including Fine
Chisel, Dirty Market and multi-story and with rural touring producer Beaford Arts;
as a writer he has been commissioned by Half Moon, Theatre Royal Plymouth and
The Egg to create work for teenage audiences and young companies, and was
commissioned in 2013 by Engage at Theatre Royal Bath, Chichester Festival
Theatre and the British School of Beijing. He is author of the book Contemporary
British Drama and has written published articles exploring dramaturgy and new
play development in the UK.
Lane, Hilary
Hilary Lane an independent curator and writer. As a senior Arts Officer at Arts
Council England she worked with galleries and artist-led organisations nationally.
Hilary has devised and selected a number of exhibitions based on the Arts Council
and other public collections and has worked as a gallery director and writer on the
visual arts. Hilary was the Cultural Strategy Manager for a county authority putting
particular emphasis on and supporting gallery development. She has a specialised
knowledge of 20th century constructivist art. Currently researching the role of
childhood obsessions in the development of artist’s practice.
Law, Peter
Peter Law is producer who works with technology and people to create interactive
and playful experiences. He has worked on a series of award-winning games with
Hide&Seek and Somethin' Else, including Papa Sangre and the latest versions of
Tate Trumps, and he designed and facilitated games for Hide&Seek's Sandpit live
games events. Currently he works at the advertising agency adam&eveDDB and is
a member of the board of the Live Art Development Agency. Peter has also
worked with Mother London, Tate Kids, Artangel, Coney, ITV, BBC, Samsung,
Royal Opera House, kin Design, National Maritime Museum, Random House and
Art of Digital London, and is games editor of digital publishing website
TheLiteraryPlaform. In the past he has organised literary events and made
programmes for BBC Radio 4.
Lee, Richard
Richard trained in Drama at Bretton Hall and subsequently taught in schools and
the Open University. He led the Outreach Department of the Towngate Theatre
before moving on to run the Holborn Centre for the Performing Arts and its Link
Theatre. After a spell as the Essex County Council Arts Officer, he was appointed
Director of Jerwood Space, a unique theatre/dance rehearsal facility with
contemporary art gallery, where he has worked since 1998, supporting and
advising a wide variety of theatre, dance and visual art practitioners. Richard has
been a trustee of essexdance, Pan Intercultural Arts and is currently a trustee and
Chair of Stagetext, responsible for captioning technologies and enhancing the
theatre experience.
Leighton-Boyce, Hannah
Hannah Leighton-Boyce is a visual artist and lecturer with specific interests in sitebased and site response works. She holds a BA in Textiles from Winchester
School of Art and an MA in Textiles (Fine Art) from Manchester School of Art,
which was funded by the AHRC. Hannah has exhibited her work within galleries,
museums and through residencies within the UK and abroad. She is currently
developing two new works; The Event of the Thread which is a ‘live’ sculptural
installation commissioned by Helmshore Mills Textiles Museum, funded by Arts
Council England and Lancashire County Council, and Instruments of Industry
which responds to objects within the off-site archives of Touchstones Museum and
Art Gallery which has been selected for a New Opportunities Award by New
Expressions 3 and Visual Arts South West.
Lewis-Crosby, Antony
Antony Lewis-Crosby recently retired as Managing Director of the London Mozart
Players, having previously been Chief Executive of the Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic Society and Arts Director of the Barbican Centre. Antony began his
career as a concert agent and Deputy Entertainments Manager of Greenwich. He
has acted as consultant to the BBC, Royal Albert Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields
Church, The Royal Society, RTE in Dublin and the Association of British Concert
Halls. He was a board member of the Association of British Orchestras and
recently chaired its Chamber Orchestras group. Currently, Antony is General
Manager of St Luke’s Music Society, Project Manager of the Festival Chorus and
Chairman of the Taylor Art Trust for the Visual Arts in Dublin. Antony’s artistic
interests are broad and, beyond music, considers theatre, the visual arts and
cinema important to him. He is particularly interested in the development of artistic
life in small and disadvantaged communities.
Little, Henry
Henry Little is Chief Executive of Orchestras Live, the development agency for
professional orchestral music in England. He has worked extensively in opera,
initially as a freelance director with the English National Opera, Royal Opera,
Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Tour and Opera 80. Henry was General
Manager of British Youth Opera and worked as an Artist Manager with the Athole
Still International Artists Management. Between 1998 and 2008, he worked at Arts
Council in a variety of roles: Touring Officer for Opera and Music, Head of Opera
and Music Theatre and Interim Director of Music Strategy, leading the Council’s
2009–12 investment strategy for music. Henry is Chairman of the National Opera
Co-ordinating Committee, has worked as an adviser on opera strategy for the Arts
Council of Ireland and is a regular collaborator with Opera Europa, the industry
body for European opera for whom he has given speeches and written several
articles.
Lockwood, David
David is a theatre director. After three years at Cygnet Training Theatre in Exeter,
David graduated as an actor and director. He worked for touring companies Dorset
Corset, Angel Exit and Jaybird, developing and performing in classical
adaptations, physical theatre and live literature. Having worked as an assistant
director at Basingstoke Haymarket on The Borrowers and as an associate director
in Israel and the West Bank on La Boheme, David returned to Exeter to set up
Particular Theatre Company, an organisation dedicated to producing new writing in
the South West. This in turn led to the creation of The Bike Shed Theatre which
opened in 2010. Since then, David has directed new plays The Distance, Still,
Beanfield (also Tobacco Factory, Bristol), Bunnies (also Salisbury Playhouse,
Tobacco Factory, New Diorama Theatre), Circus Britannica (also Theatre 503),
Playing with Snails - all for The Bike Shed Theatre. He has also directed
adaptations of The Magic Flute and A Christmas Carol, and The Dumb Waiter. For
Bristol’s Theatre West, he has directed new plays Items of Value and Nets. David
created and leads on Ignite, Exeter’s festival of theatre, and sits on the steering
groups of Animated Exeter, Exetreme Imagination and the Laugh Out Loud
festival. In 2014, he began a Clore Leadership Fellowship.
Lord, Frances
Frances Lord is a freelance consultant based in East Sussex whose specialism is
in the visual arts and crafts. Frances works with local government, architects,
developers, environmental agencies, and directly with artists and arts
organisations initiating, developing and managing arts and cultural projects. She
has a successful track record in curating, commissioning, policy and strategy
development, training, mentoring, evaluation and fundraising. Recent projects
include ‘Elizabethan mansion to Edwardian horticultural splendor’, a Cultural
Strategy for Borde Hill Garden, East Sussex, 2014 and Makers as Trainers and
Employers: Craft Apprenticeships & Internships Research Project and Training,
with partner Making Space, Havant.
Malcolm, Tamara
Tamara Malcolm is a theatre production consultant. From 2002 to 2009, she was
Project Executive Producer, Casting Adviser and Fundraiser to London-based
Collective Artistes, a black theatre ensemble from the African diaspora. Her sevenyear regime of black theatre visits nationally informs all her work. Out of the Box
Productions and The African Consortium were beneficiaries of Tamara’s
fundraising, and she has been consulted by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
Founder/Director of The Theatre, Chipping Norton, Tamara was among the first to
promote theatre companies Cheek by Jowl and ATC. As producer, she
commissioned such writers and composers, as Henry Livings, Sarah Travis, Biyi
Bandele, Femi Osofisan, Jeff Clarke and Graeme Garden. Prior to management,
Tamara was an actor, most memorably in Peter Brook’s Marat/Sade for the RSC.
She was awarded an MBE for services to theatre in 2001. She is on the board of
Arts in Rural Gloucester 2003.
Matthews, Steven
Steven Matthews is a poet and critic who is based at the University of Reading.
His collection of poetry, Skying, appeared from Waterloo Press in 2012.
Subsequent work has appeared in a variety of journals and anthologies, including
Poetry and Audience and Stand Magazine. Steven is the author also of seven
critical books relating to modern and contemporary poetry and fiction. He has been
a regular reviewer of poetry in the TLS and Poetry Review, and currently writes for
the London Magazine. Steven is a former editor of Poetry Dublin.
McAllister, Ron
Ron McAllister became Head of Music at South Hill Park Arts Centre in 1983,
commissioning new work, promoting festival activity and serving on the Music
Panel of Southern Arts. In 1989 he opened The Maltings Arts Centre in the
Borders, where he established an orchestral season, folk festival and producing
base for community productions and professional touring. In 1991 he launched
Huddersfield’s Lawrence Batley Theatre. Ron launched tours with Theatre de
Complicite, The Featherstonehaughs, Benji Reid and Faulty Optic, and was on the
Board of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival for ten years. In 2001 Ron
returned to South Hill Park as Chief Executive. Since then he has worked on
projects across all artforms – Wildefire, Bracknell Festival, SWALK, the CIAO
Festival and Big Day Out, co-commissioned work from dreamthinkspeak and
Protein Dance, developed projects with emerging companies, composed music for
touring productions and advised on Arts Council England’s Dance Panel.
In recent years Ron has steered South Hill Park Arts Centre through a time of
change and development, as CEO, produced the first UK /European tour from
Australian company Circa, and has composed for National touring productions of
Dracula (Blackeyed Theatre) and Othello (Icarus Theatre Collective.)
McCarthy, Julie
Julie McCarthy is a cultural producer, researcher and arts manager with over 20
years’ experience in the UK and internationally. Beginning her career in arts and
social change in Brazil and Peru she now focuses on engaged practice across art
forms. Working with contemporary artists and communities Julie has produced
work for the National Trust, Tatton Biennial, local authorities, housing associations
and young people’s charities. Julie spent 7 years at Arts Council where she
worked with a portfolio of participatory arts organisations, developed early
partnerships between the arts and heritage sectors and encouraged new
approaches to arts and young people at risk. Julie is currently Cultural Producer at
42nd Street; a mental health organisation based in Manchester, where she is
developing an arts and cultural offer encompassing visual arts, performance,
digital media and contemporary craft. She is also managing a capital project to
convert a three storey Victorian shop into a permanent cultural hub.
McCarthy, Shaun
Shaun McCarthy has been a professional playwright and author for over 25 years.
Stage productions include A Christmas Carol, Smoke and Mirrors, Circus
Britannica and Beanfield (all Bike Shed Theatre), Safe (Mokita-Grit Productions),
London Isn’t Venice (Mutiny Arts), and Honest: untouchable, See His Face and A
Frail Light in the Desert (all Bristol Old Vic). Radio dramas include The Aran Isles
(R4 Classic Serial) and Fireworks (R4 Saturday Play). Shaun has written over 20
study guides to English literature and a series of ‘how to’ creative writing guides.
He has held a couple of dozen writer-in-residence posts, in every form of institution
from festivals to prisons, boarding schools to hostels for the homeless. Shaun
teaches short courses and master classes in writing for performance at Oxford and
Bristol universities.
Merrick, Paul
Paul Merrick is a practicing visual artist, represented by Workplace Gallery,
Gateshead and currently works as a freelance education artist at BALTIC Centre
for Contemporary Art. He has over 20 years experience and expertise of making
works for exhibitions which are presented nationally and internationally in galleries,
museums and art fairs. Recent exhibitions include solo presentation at Workplace
Gallery, Gateshead, RIFF, Baltic|39, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, Tip of the Iceberg,
Contemporary Art Society, London, UK, MALEREI Painting as Object, Transition
Gallery, London, UK The New Domestic Landscape, Northern gallery for
Contemporary Art, Sunderland. Paul has worked with an extensive number of arts
organisations and galleries within the North East region devising and delivering art
projects for a broad range of people (BALTIC, NGCA, Shipley Art Gallery, DLI
Museum Art Gallery, Woodhorn Museum). In addition he has also worked in
partnership with Great North Run Culture (Lead Education Artist), Tees Valley Arts
(Host Artist / Arts Award), Koestler Trust, Northern Architecture, CBBC, Children in
Need and Creative Partnerships (Creative Agent). Paul is currently also visiting
tutor at Newcastle, Loughborough and Teesside Universities.
McGowan, Hilary
Hilary McGowan works with museums and heritage organisations to help them
stand on their own two feet, be strong and survive into the future. She has over 30
years’ experience of this sector, some of that time as a museums and culture
director in York, Exeter and Bristol, and for the last 17 years, she has run her own
successful business. In that time, she has worked with over 60 organisations and
has clients all over the country. Hilary is known for being an advocate of
professional development, having chaired the Museums Association’s
Development Committee which launched the new AMA and FMA, introducing the
concept of mentoring and CPD to museums. Hilary is a Trustee of Bletchley Park,
chairman of The Beecroft Bequest, an AMA Reviewer and a Fellowship Assessor.
McLean, Rita
Rita McLean is a museums and heritage consultant. She has worked across the
UK museums and heritage sector throughout her career in a range of curatorial,
museum development and senior management roles. She was Director of
Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (BMAG) from 2004 until 2012, and prior to
this, a member of BMAG’s senior management team with responsibility for the
management and development of the service’s historic house/community
museums and sites. Her experience spans the delivery of a number of major
capital development projects, collections development and interpretation
programmes, workforce and audience development and diversity initiatives. Rita’s
current consultancy work includes a range of assignments for the Heritage Lottery
Fund as a project mentor and monitor. She is currently a member of ACE’s
Museum Accreditation Panel, Deputy Chair of the National Trust’s Midlands
Advisory Board, a Governor of Compton Verney House Trust and a board member
of the Drum intercultural arts centre.
McManus, Clare
Clare McManus is a freelance evaluator, consultant and performer. She trained in
mime and theatre in London, Prague and Paris, before working in small-scale
touring theatre from Cornwall to Shetland. She has worked as an arts facilitator,
local authority arts officer and freelance project manager. As Director of Eventus
she led on the company’s work on culture in regeneration and was a partner in the
ESRC funded Look at Me! project. She was instrumental in developing arts
consortiums for strategic commissioning. She was a mentor and monitor on
community engagement for the Heritage Lottery Fund and is an experienced
Trustee of several arts and environmental organisations. Clare is currently
completing an MA in Theatre and Performance at the University of Sheffield,
researching theatre and dementia, has developed Tread Softly, a one-to-one piece
on loss; and is contributing to a PhD research project on Representations of
Ageing in Theatre. She has also returned to her performing roots with the
Crucible’s Sheffield People’s Theatre and Protein Dance’s community cast.
McMillan, Andrew
Andrew McMillan is a poet and freelance writer. According to the seminal new
anthology the Salt Book of Younger Poets, he is one of the poets who will
‘dominate UK poetry in years to come’. Andrew has completed numerous
residencies and commissions, including Heritage Lottery and Arts Council
residencies nationwide and a poetry commission for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
His work, collected most recently in the pamphlet The moon is a supported player,
has been published widely and featured on Radio 4’s Today programme. Andrew
has organised events for numerous festivals and organisations, including the Ilkley
Literature Festival and The Hepworth Wakefield gallery. He edits Cake magazine
and is a poetry editor for the highly acclaimed online literary magazine for young
people, The Cadaverine. Andrew has also advised museum services on how to
delivery poetry as part of their education packages and has worked extensively in
community settings.
McNulty, Paddy
Paddy McNulty originally trained as an archaeologist working for leading
archaeology units, including Wessex Archaeology and MoLA. With over 15 years’
experience in archaeology, museums, and cultural heritage he is a Director of
Paddy McNulty Associates, a leading cultural heritage and museums consultancy.
At MoLA Paddy became involved in community archaeology projects and went on
to develop and delivery activities across South East England. Whilst continuing to
be involved in museum activities he worked at MLA London and went freelance in
2010. Paddy has been commissioned to deliver a variety of projects – from
developing activities, to wide scale organisational and strategic development
projects, through to original research in cross-sector partnership working. His
clients have included a diverse range of Independent, Local Authority, and
University museums, such as the Museum of London, London Transport Museum,
and UCL Public and Cultural Engagement (PACE) – as well as arts and literacy
development agencies, including Artswork and The Reading Agency. He is a
Trustee of the London Museums Group and an advocate for innovation and
creativity in museums.
Mead, Steve
Steve Mead is Artistic Director at Manchester Jazz Festival, which he co-founded
in 1996, and during which time he has pioneered schemes for commissioning new
work and platforms for encouraging original repertoire and young musicians. He is
also co-director of Jazz North, the partnership-based jazz development
organisation for northern England, founded in 2012 to develop performance
opportunities and CPD schemes for musicians. Prior to 2012, he also co-directed
NWJazzworks, its regional predecessor, from 2005. Delving further back, Steve
composed for a variety of theatre, dance and radio projects – notably as a member
of The Glee Club Performance Company – having studied composition, classical
guitar, visual arts and writing for his Creative Arts degree. He now sits on several
advisory panels for Jazz Services, PRS for Music Foundation and Serious. He
enjoys a wide range of music, people and really old things that still work.
Morland, Rebecca
Rebecca Morland is Theatres Adviser at The Theatres Trust, the National Advisory
Body for Theatres, where her role involves providing advice and information on
any aspect of developing a capital project and sustainably managing
theatres. Previously she was a freelance arts manager working with companies on
areas such as interim management, funding applications, capital projects and
change management. Until 2010 she was Executive Director of Hampstead
Theatre. Most of her previous experience has been in regional producing theatre –
in particular, as Administrative Director of Bristol Old Vic and prior to that
Executive Director at Salisbury Playhouse, but also including periods in Worcester
and Colchester. Rebecca’s work has also involved co-producing and
collaborations with other producing theatres, with touring companies of varying
sizes and scales, and with the commercial sector. She has a strong interest in new
writing, as well as small-scale and site-specific work.
Muge, Liz
Liz Muge is a freelance arts consultant specialising in music education. Since
graduating with a music degree from the University of Leeds, Liz has spent the last
13 years developing and managing music education programmes – as Education
Director for the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (2003–05) and as CEO
of Make Some Noise, the Youth Music Action Zone for Staffordshire and Stoke on
Trent (2005–11). Liz has also played a significant role in the development of the
music education environment through her work as Regional Co-ordinator for Youth
Music (2002–05) and as co-chair of the national network of Youth Music Action
Zones (2009–11). In addition to her current freelance role, Liz is a volunteer
trustee for Sinfonia Viva and chairperson of the board of directors of East Midlands
Jazz CiC.
Murdin, Alex
Alex Murdin is an independent artist, curator, and producer with wide experience
across the whole spectrum of the visual arts. He is also a researcher at University
College Falmouth, with specific interests in art in the public realm and the field of
craft and design. Alex has worked with diverse communities of interest, from
grassroots environmental activists to academic scientific institutions. Most recently,
he has been developing a programme of innovative rural public art projects under
the title of Wide Open Space for the Dorset Strategic Partnership. His previous
experience includes board roles with Aune Head Arts and Artsmatrix, acting as
Creative Director for arts and health consultancy Willis Newson, and a seven-year
stint as Director of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen.
Murdoch, Alex
Alex Murdoch is Artistic Director of Cartoon de Salvo, whose productions include
Meat and Two Veg, Pub Rock and the allotment site-specific show The Sunflower
Plot. Hard Hearted Hannah and Other Stories, which pioneered long-form impro in
the UK, recently visited the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Alex trained at
École Philippe Gaulier and RNT Studio after taking her degree at the Central
School. Her credits include performing and improvising Ghosts Nets, Roger
Salmon, The Wooden Frock (all for Kneehigh Theatre), impro with the Comedy
Store Players, directing Ionesco's The New Tenant (Young Vic) and a reading of
Karpati's The Fourth Gate (RNT). Alex has taught at Middlesex, Central and East
15 and leads Introduction to Rural Touring for ITC. In 2011 she was selected for
the Clore Short Course and BAC’s Independents programme exploring and
advocating for the role of the artist in cultural leadership.
Myers, Jodi
Jodi Myers is an independent arts consultant, working with a wide range of
organisations in both the publicly funded and commercial sectors. In 2008 Jodi,
working with Anne Millman, carried out the Theatre Assessment for Arts Council
England. Jodi also mentors and coaches managers, producers and artists. From
1996 to 2005 she was Director of Performing Arts at the South Bank Centre and
Director of Warwick Arts Centre from 1991 to 1996. Prior to that she was Deputy
Director of Touring, with responsibility for drama, for the Arts Council of Great
Britain, having joined as Marketing Officer/Touring. Jodi’s early career was spent
in marketing opera and stage managing theatre. She has served as a trustee of a
number of theatre companies; currently she is a member of the board of Propeller
Theatre Company and a governor of the Royal Central School of Speech and
Drama. She is also independent chair of the National Dance Network.
Natt, Kulbir
Kulbir Natt is a co-founder and Director of Darbar Arts Culture Heritage, which
organises the Darbar Festival, described by Songlines as the ‘UK’s most important
celebration of south Asian classical music’. Kulbir has edited a book about Indian
classical music in Britain, and currently is Assistant Editor of Pulse, the magazine
about south Asian music and dance. He is an artist manager and is editing a
publication about cultural leaders in the south Asian sector. Previously, Kulbir
worked as a producer for the BBC and Financial Times Television, as well as
writing in the corporate world.
Nicol, Gill
Gill Nicol trained as an artist and has over 25 years’ experience in the arts. She
has worked for many organisations including engage, Ikon (Birmingham), mac
(Birmingham), Tate Liverpool, Henry Moore Institute, Spike Print Studio and
Arnolfini in Bristol. In 2009, she spent eight months on a work-based cultural
leadership programme at Tate St Ives, working on audience development. More
recently, she was Head of Interaction at Arnolfini. In April 2011 Gill set up her own
agency, lightsgoingon, making contemporary art accessible. Recent work has
included training invigilators and guides for the British Art Show7 in Plymouth and
leading on a pilot Visitor Experience Programme for Arts Council England across
the South West, West and East Midlands. She was the artSOUTH Engagement
Programmer in 2013. Gill has an MA in Fine Art Printmaking (Distinction) from
University of Brighton and an MA in Feminism and Visual Arts from University of
Leeds.
Olding, Simon
Professor Simon Olding is a writer and curator with an especial interest in modern
and contemporary craft. He is Director of the Crafts Study Centre, University for
the Creative Arts and leads its programme of exhibitions and events. These
underpin the Craft Study Centre’s twin roles as an accredited museum and a
research centre of the University. He is an advocate for the crafts through external
roles: Deputy Chair of The Leach Pottery; President of Walford Mill Crafts; a
Trustee of unraveled Arts and a Patron of Stroud International Textiles. His
research and writing is often focused on craft makers and organisations in the
South West of England.