KIRKGATE ARTS - Key Persons
Andy is a regular performer at Cockermouth's summer festival Cockermouth Live! and, while focusing on music, he has a life-long interest and passion for all the performing arts. Originally from across the border in Dumfries and Galloway, Cockermouth has been his home for 32 years.
Andy has over 25 years' experience in management at a senior level and at one time was responsible for over 300 staff when he was Jobcentre Area Manager for all of Cumbria's 14 Jobcentres. For 5 years before retiring, he worked in the private sector for construction company Mace, as Senior Sustainability Manager.
While recruiting or promoting hundreds of people during his working life, Andy found that whenever a candidate was nervous, it helped to get them talking about their personal interests. Invariably, it turned out they were in the school choir, played an instrument, liked books, went to plays. That brought out the real person with individual qualities.
Andy wants to play a part in supporting and developing Kirkgate Arts and Heritage because he believes that culture makes the person, and the person makes the town.
A native of Manchester, Bob has lived in Cockermouth for 35 years. He founded Cockermouth Amateur Dramatic Society (CADS) in 1984, and its rural touring offshoot, the A595 Theatre Company in 2000. He has been associated with the Kirkgate Centre since it was first proposed in 1990. A teacher of English and Drama for much of his career, Bob started volunteering for the Kirkgate Centre when it opened in 1995, taking various roles including programme co-ordinator. In 2005 he started working for the West Cumbria Rural Touring Scheme (now Arts Out West) and later guided its transition from local authority control to Kirkgate Arts. He then became Artistic Director of Kirkgate Arts until his retirement in 2013.
With Chris George and Kate Parry he pioneered the Georgian Fair, and is now chair of Cockermouth Festivals Group, which organises the annual Cockermouth Live! weekend. He enjoys performing as a member of La'al Beggars Community Opera Group and Sing Owt Community Choir. He is currently clerk of the Cumberland Area Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).
I grew up in West Cumberland but moved away to go to college and eventually ended up in Glasgow, where I was a researcher at the University for many years. Glasgow was where I developed a taste for...
Job Titles:
- General Manager
- Member of the EXECUTIVE TEAM
Emma was born in West Cumbria where her mother ensured she was exposed to as many aspects of the arts as the rural location allowed.
After completing a degree in Textile Management at Leeds University she has worked within many aspects of the textiles industry from manufacturing and retail to supply chain management. Emma has always loved to travel and has lived and worked in the Canadian Rockies and Vancouver as well as New Zealand. Emma returned to Cumbria with her family in 2011. They settled in the Cockermouth area believing that it would be a good place to bring up the family. So far they have been proved correct!
She started to volunteer at the Kirkgate within weeks of returning to the area. Emma could see that the centre was a valuable resource to the community and wanted to do all she could to support it. Since then, she has taken on a number of roles in the organisation including duty managing, ops team member, chair of the Friends of the Kirkgate , joint volunteer coordinator and trustee. During the period of enforced shut down that COVID brought she took on the role of Executive Director on a voluntary basis. She was appointed as the General Manager in September 2021 and hopes to ensure that the organisation can look forward to a bright future.
Job Titles:
- Member of the EXECUTIVE TEAM
- Community Projects Officer
After graduating with a degree in archaeology, Helen worked as a volunteer manager for different health, youth and disability charities. In more recent years she has been running community arts and heritage projects, focusing on projects that involve local people and highlight the stories from the past that are often overlooked.
Helen grew up in Cockermouth and always planned to return one day. She started at Kirkgate in 2023, as Community Projects Officer. She is looking forward to helping deliver the variety of community projects we have at the Kirkgate, and is enjoying getting to know the local community and area again.
Job Titles:
- Administration Officer
- Finance
- Member of the EXECUTIVE TEAM
Jocelyn started working at the Kirkgate in 2009. Prior to this she had been a volunteer, first in the very early days serving interval coffee and later working in the box office. She grew up in Cockermouth and...
Job Titles:
- Member of the EXECUTIVE TEAM
- Operations Manager
Katie grew up in Cockermouth and, after a few years away in various roles and cities, moved back in 2003. She started volunteering at the Kirkgate Centre in 2014 in the box office, with the music programming group...
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the EXECUTIVE TEAM
Rob is a Cockermouth resident who has a background in nuclear engineering and legal services. He acts as the Trust's Chair...
A native West Cumbrian, Sue has always lived in the area, apart from time studying Business Studies and Modern Foreign Languages at Newcastle Polytechnic.
Returning to Cockermouth, Sue worked as PA to the Board of Directors at Millers Footwear Limited in Cockermouth, until its closure in 1990. Then followed a ten year stint in the hospitality industry, working as Conference Co-ordinator at Armathwaite Hall Hotel, Bassenthwaite. Following this, for the fifteen years prior to retirement Sue worked for a local insurance broker.
Sue has been a governor at Cockermouth School for over twenty years, during which time she has held both the position of Vice Chair and Chair of the Governing Board and is still as passionate as ever to support the school and its students and the school's role in the community.
Since retirement, Sue's interests continue to include walking in our beautiful area plus fly fishing, and now being a member of Cockermouth U3A - currently an enthusiastic member of the Latin Group. Sue started volunteer duties at Kirkgate in November 2019. She is delighted to be able to continue to support and develop Kirkgate Arts and Heritage for the special community it serves.
West Cumbrian John worked as a journalist in the county for over 20 years before taking up the role of Head of Communications at Allerdale Borough Council in 2000. He left Allerdale to join Sellafield Ltd, initially as...