IOU THEATRE - Key Persons
I am an independent cultural strategist, with extensive experience of delivering cross-disciplinary programmes pushing the boundaries of arts production and audience experience.
For the last ten years I have been a key strategic member of Abandon Normal Devices, producing challenging, provocative, and inspiring cultural experiences which enabled artists and audiences to take risks. I now support arts leaders by working hands-on across operations, leadership, strategy, planning and execution in a way that's tailored to their needs.
Prior to Abandon Normal Devices, I worked within strategic communications and programme delivery for Arts Council England, Future Everything, Imperial War Museum North, Greenwich and Docklands International Festival and on national programmes We Play, the Cultural Olympiad Programme in the North West Region of UK, Liverpool Capital of Culture 2008 and Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Catherine has worked in public sector communications and marketing for 20 + years, with Leeds City Council and now at Leeds Beckett University. She has led communications and engagement activity on a diverse range of projects, including education, transport, culture, regeneration and economic development and - a particular professional highlight - the Tour de France Grand Depart.
She is a passionate advocate for communications that engage, and change people's perceptions and actions.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Board
- Is Director of Artichoke
Helen is Director of Artichoke, a creative company in the UK. Their presentation of Royal de Luxe's The Sultan's Elephant (2006) in London reinvented the notion of the city's landscape.
Since then Artichoke has produced a biennial Lumiere series in Durham from 2009 - 2023 with additional events in Derry and London; Peace Camp (2012); Temple in Derry (2015); Great Fire 350 (2016); PROCESSIONS (2018). In 2019 she was made Creative Director of Galway 2020, European Capital of Culture.
Helen's interests centre on art, civic disruption, public engagement and the transformation of daily life. In 2012 she was awarded a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard and made an MBE for Services to the Arts in 2016. She is a Fellow of Guildhall School since 2018. She was an Area Council member for ACE (London) until February 2022.
Jack started working in regional theatres across the country as a lighting engineer and designer of shows. He then moved onto designing lighting and project managing shows and events worldwide and in interesting places. He was Technical Director for Manchester City of drama 94 which started his move into large scale City wide event management. He has spent the last 16 years working for Manchester International Festival overseeing all technical aspects of all their shows and events and was instrumental in the creation of the New Aviva studios. He lives on Erringden moor above Hebden Bridge and enjoys Walking and mountain biking around the hills.
Job Titles:
- Hebden Bridge Hostel Manager
- Hostel Manager
Jill manages the IOU Hebden Bridge Hostel. She is responsible for the day to day running of the Hostel, and moving the creative vision for the hostel forwards.
Joanne holds the position of CEO and Executive Director, drawing from a professional journey that spans over two decades. Her role is collaborative and encompasses responsibilities such as leadership and business development, strategy formulation, event and project management, and the leadership of a creative team, all contributing to the realisation of the company's vision.
Joanne is an accomplished arts professional with a rich portfolio in the cultural industries. Her expertise encompasses a wide array of art forms, covering both management and production aspects. She has been involved in various projects, including indoor and outdoor theatre, digital and online art events, and the coordination of large-scale outdoor spectacles.
Loui manages technical development and implementation of productions. He also works maintaining the IOU studio and gallery spaces.
My job is to support the development and delivery of all IOU productions and our learning programme.
Artists make work in many different ways and need support in varying ways to help create work, I am able to adapt and change to best aid the projects being undertaken. If you are looking to do an internship, residency or project with IOU, I would be your first port of call.
Nancy has worked for and with commercial, charity and not for profit organisations over 30+ years and gained experience in a variety of sectors. Recent years have seen her have an emphasis on providing a business consultancy with a focus on HR and staff training.
I am a Senior Project Manager for a global Design & Consultancy firm for natural and built assets, based in their Leeds office. I am a Chartered Civil Engineer with experience in the delivery and management of infrastructure projects including water, flood defence, coastal, highways and rail. I am a Fellow of The Institution of Civil Engineers and have a passion for realising the potential in others.
Rich is a collaborative and empathetic leader with 20+ years experience making, developing and programming artists. He is committed to enabling new ideas and alternative approaches to art making to flourish. Well versed in helping artists interrogate their ideas, ensuring people are able to make the work they really want to make.
His work has ranged from large scale international work to experimental installations that fall into a number of categories, including digital and live public art and performance.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Freelance Visual Arts Project Manager
Sam Clayton is a sculptor and freelance visual arts project manager. He works with artists and venues on demanding and complex installations and also works in North Wales as studio manager for renowned British sculptor David Nash.
For the last 25 years he has worked all over the world making sculptures with artists including Andy Goldsworthy.
His sculptural work usually begins with a given location, investigating and immersing himself in new environments through walking, maps and archive research. He often works in collaboration with fellow artist Mark Jacobs - their
I am Curator / Publications Lead at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, working across all aspects of exhibition development and realisation, including the creative production of our new Bloomberg Connects digital App. Design and print are my other areas of specialisation and I work closely with artists to create YSP's publications. I also have an interest in poetry, recently working with Simon Armitage and Jackie Kay on commissioned poetry collections. Project management is an important part of my role and I have managed the delivery of significant off-site projects, including Ursula von Rydingsvard at the 2015 Venice Biennale.
Outside my everyday work, I was a school governor for 8 years, with a special interest in how the arts are embedded in learning.
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Communications Manager
Sarah's role is Marketing and Communications Manager. She works with the whole team to develop strategies to communicate IOU's work and ethos to our audiences, artistic partners and our funders.
For each strand of IOU's work including touring productions and our artist development programme she implements a targeted marketing campaign that aims to engage and grow our audiences in line with our business objectives. This will include generating copy and content, working with image and video assets across digital communications, social media, press coverage and printed materials.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Shirley May was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2020. Shirley May has performed predominately in the North West, nationally and internationally, appearing at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York and the Calabash writing festival in Jamaica.
She is the director of Young Identity writing collective, which primarily works with 13-25 year-olds. Young Identity works in partnership with Contact Theatre, HOME and MIF. Shirley believes her role is to make both performance and page poetry accessible to young people in Manchester.
She has worked for 18 years to promote a culture around performance poetry to make it "cool" and happening by mentoring and supporting new writers in schools and community groups. Shirley and her team of young writers and mentors believe that the voice of young people in writing is as valid as adult writers. She seeks to free "de inna voice". Shirley is featured in anthologies by Suitcase Press, and Crocus Books and her first poetry collection, She Wrote Her Own Eulogy, has been published by Wrecking Ball Press.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Vice Chair
I am a freelance creative producer, committed to connecting people and place through culture. After a varied career including co - founding Green Room, Manchester, leading Preston Guild 2012 and the Culture10 programme supporting Festivals and Events across the North East, I co-founded Festival of Thrift, the National Festival of Sustainable Living. I led the organisation to NPO status before stepping down in November 2022. Alongside producing place shaping consultancies I regularly advise cultural organisations on strategy and younger cultural professionals plus volunteering in a range of local and national projects to share and exchange skills.