People

Clare is a climate communication professional. With a background that traverses theatre production and sustainability consultancy, Clare is currently Communication and Engagement Officer at the Priestley International Centre for Climate. Her work involves facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration for climate solutions and translating complex research content for non-expert audiences. She is also completing a PhD at the University of Leeds, exploring how encounters with interactive art shape our understanding of the world and our place in it, against a backdrop of the Anthropocene.

Melanie is an art historian, writer and curator. She is Curator of Sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, with a particular emphasis on the modern and contemporary periods. Previously she was Curator of Art (post-1800) at the Royal Museums Greenwich. There, she chaired the Contemporary Arts Forum, and curated a number of exhibitions and displays, including ‘The Moon’ (2019), the UK’s major celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. Melanie’s wider interests include the dialogue(s) between science and the arts, the role of the arts in society, and artistic responses to the climate emergency.

Marcus is an interdisciplinary artist working as a sculptor , musician and bell-maker who is producing critically acclaimed work across the UK and Europe. He has exhibited in the Venice Guggenheim, Tate Modern, and made public sculpture in Hungary, Armenia, Czech Republic, U.S.A., and the U.K. He makes site-specific installations that engage with each community, using bells as a catalyst for other creative activity. He created the first Time and Tide Bell in 2008 and remains deeply involved in the project

Peter has had a very varied career, in business, consultancy and international development, leading to a move into the arts in the late C20. This included spells as Chief Executive of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society, leading the arts element of Liverpool’s successful Capital of Culture bid, and in 2005 founding TippingPoint, a highly regarded organisation seeking to engage artists with the subject of climate change; for over 12 years TippingPoint worked with over 2,000 artists worldwide and commissioned over 40 pieces of work. He met Marcus through this – and realised that the project deserved greater support and funding.

Juliette has had a varied career; working in Public Relations and moving to journalism focussing on using technology to enable better learning. After writing an eye opening series with the Times Educational Supplement about how to better inspire students, Juliette trained as a teacher. Working as a teacher for many years Juliette added educational consultant to her bow and has worked with many different groups, including; the Department for Education, BBC, Times Educational Supplement, Victoria’s Department for Education Australia and many more. Juliette’s projects and research always encourage students to learn collaboratively, usually in less traditional settings. Forest and Coastal schools trained, she created a thriving Beach School and remains passionate about how the beach can be a wonderful outdoor classroom bringing engagement and active research to classrooms.

Alan Dix set up 509 Arts in 1995, following successful careers in both theatre and education. Since that time the company has worked throughout England with arts organisations, public sector bodies, private businesses and the voluntary sector to develop, produce, manage and assess cultural programmes and projects of all kinds. 509 Arts’ recent production of Calderland, an operatic exploration of catastrophic climate related flooding in the Calder Valley, won the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society award for its work with communities. Alan is Chair of Hull Truck Theatre and a Board member of Leeds Playhouse.

Catherine is a mentor, coach & adviser, with a particular interest in developing the connections between the personal, social, environmental and economic aspects of living. She has held a large number of non executive posts including Chair, National Forest Company; Chair, National Trust’s Architectural Panel; Board Member Natural England, & Heritage Lottery Fund; Trustee of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, CPRE.  Management Consultant, 1994-2012, mainly in the not for profit sector, focusing on philanthropy; strategic planning; governance and organisational development. Prior to that, Vice President, Citibank; Chief Executive, Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Started her career with a number of roles in the voluntary housing sector, the last being Deputy Director of a major London Housing Association.

Irene is a sculptor and metal caster with 40 years’ experience. Whilst exhibiting and producing her own sculpture, she has facilitated many major names with the production of their work. As an educator in industry and the community she has trained-up new employees at AB fine art foundry and has devised and delivered numerous sculpture workshops from Primary school level up to Degree. She also ran the foundry at the Royal College of Art and is presently teaching sculpture at Carmarthen School of Art. While following Marcus Vergette’s career since he graduated from Central school of Art in 1982, she has admired the continuously investigative and ingenious approach that he has applied to all his projects.

Until very recently Judith was co-director of Artsadmin, which she founded in 1979. Over the last forty years, the organisation has supported and produced the work of contemporary artists and companies of all disciplines. Its base at Toynbee Studios in East London is a centre for the development of new work, with rehearsal spaces, free advisory service, bursary scheme, education programme, residencies, workshops and performances. Judith produced numerous projects, many of them site-specific, in locations all over the world. She worked closely with the Imagine 2020 EU Network producing artists’ projects about the climate emergency including Artsadmin’s Two Degrees festival. She was awarded an MBE in 2007, and in 2009 was made Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.