I’ve worked in the arts sector in the North West mainly at the Arts Council for approximately 12 years. My time there was diverse and enjoyable ranging from working in Film & Photography before the creation of Northwest Vision, then on to the Visual Arts department for a number of years, followed by a stint as assistant officer in Dance working on a new regional strategy and multiple Grants for the Arts assessments! During that time I also worked on disparate projects including a number of regional arts events, an association with the Arts Council Collection at the Hayward Gallery and the Northwest office’s relocation project.
To ward off the danger of becoming too institutionalised I thought it was important to undertake some temporary external work! Manchester City Council’s cultural regeneration initiative the Diversity Exchange Network was an established project for which research outcomes pointed to the need for a publication for the sector (DXN magazine), and I became its coordinating editor for a couple of years. In 2008 I undertook the role of UK coordinator of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue working with Euclid and the DCMS. Having left the Arts Council earlier this year, I have most recently been freelancing at Shisha the agency for contemporary South Asian visual arts and crafts.
Now though, I am really excited by this new role as Cultural Offer Manager for the Valuing Older People project. I recognize that an enormous amount of work and commitment has already been invested in this initiative over a number of years. Its depth and quality is significant as it largely underpins this new phase of the project’s development.