Author: Guy Armitage

Elaine Midgley is Director of Bedford Creative Arts, leading the team of staff, artists and freelancers behind BCA’s wide-ranging programme of community-based arts projects and activities.

An experienced arts manager, she brings deep expertise across fundraising, event management, arts development and theatre. Her career before BCA spanned youth and professional touring theatre, local authority arts development, and the management of major live events – including the Cambridge legs of the Olympic Torch Relay and the Tour de France. She also serves as Chair of the Bedford Cultural Partnership, the consortium representing Bedford’s arts and cultural organisations.

Victoria Pratt is an artist who works across disciplines. She is Co-founder and Creative Director of Invisible Flock; multi-award winning artists, based at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK. Invisible Flock’s practice fuses technology and natural materials collaborating with environments and communities to form layered understandings of place. We place artworks in nature, in galleries and museums, in digital and public spaces, in print and out at sea. We work across sectors to have a creative impact on ecology, politics, health and society.

Our work has been exhibited at Wellcome Collection, Brighton Festival, COP27 and COP28 with the World Health Organisation, Karachi Biennale, British Library, FACT Liverpool, The Sage Gateshead, Qatar Museums, Victoria & Albert Museum, Vooruit Ghent, Saint Sauveur Lille and MIMA amongst many others.

In 2021 Invisible Flock received the Wellcome Trust Hub Award to lead Land Body Ecologies (LBE). Land Body Ecologies is a global collective of artists, expert communities, researchers, Indigenous leaders, designers, conservationists, technologists and activists together exploring the deep connections between mental health and ecosystem health.

Amelia Baron is a Leeds-based curator and artist currently working as the Assistant Curator at The Art House in Wakefield (Instagram). Since joining the curatorial team in 2021, Amelia has focused on championing accessibility, neurodivergence, and mental health within the creative sector.

She is deeply committed to supporting artists who face barriers to their practice and ensuring art remains accessible to all, regardless of background or class. A graduate of Leeds Arts University (BA Fine Art, 2018), Amelia’s own artist practice uses performance and installation to explore the complexities of the mind. Her work often features delicate materials and repetitive gestures to reflect on the fragility of mental health, a practice rooted in her lived experience of using art as a primary tool for communication and recovery.

Mia is the Curator & Programme Manager at ‘a space’ arts in Southampton. She works alongside the creative programming team to develop and deliver exhibitions, events and artist development activities. A graduate of Winchester School of Art, Mia is interested in generating opportunities and providing support for emerging artists in the region as well as commissioning playful, exciting art that amplifies marginalised voices and challenges convention.

Mia is also a trustee at SPUD in the New Forest, as well as a filmmaker and visual artist. She is mostly Cornish, but grew up in Plymouth and enjoys cooking, reading and swimming in the sea.

A new commission, House of Revision / House of Repair by Uma Breakdown, opens at ‘a space’ arts’ headline venue, God’s House Tower on Friday 5 June and runs until Monday 27 July 2026.

Natalie Rudd is Director of West Yorkshire Print Workshop, a dynamic arts organisation supporting artists working in printmaking. She is leading the organisation through an ambitious next chapter.

An art historian, curator and writer specialising in modern and contemporary art, Natalie brings over 25 years of expertise in strategic leadership, public engagement, and inclusive programming. As Senior Curator of the Arts Council Collection (2003–2021), she led the UK’s largest loan collection of British sculpture, managing the centre for sculpture at Longside, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and producing many touring exhibitions and learning programmes. She has also held curatorial positions at Tate Liverpool and the University of Manchester.

With doctorate-level expertise in recent sculpture by women, Natalie develops sector-shaping projects that foreground underrepresented artists and narratives. She is a highly skilled writer and editor with an extensive portfolio of published work, and as an experienced public speaker she regularly delivers lectures and chairs conversations at galleries, museums and universities across the UK. She studied History of Art at King’s College, Cambridge, graduating with a First Class degree, and recently completed a PhD in Art History at the University of Birmingham, funded by Midlands4Cities.

Dave McLeavy is a curator, writer and cultural leader, and is currently the CEO & Artistic Director at Humber Street Gallery, Hull. Born in Hull, but spending most of his career based in Sheffield, he has held positions as Director of Bloc Projects, Sheffield, Curator at Humber Street Gallery and Founder and Editor of the online platform YAC – Young Artists in Conversation. He is also the Chair of Trustees for the arts and heritage organisation, Our Big Picture in Grimsby, and was formally the Chair of Trustees for Turf Projects, Croydon.

Dinosaur Kilby is an Artist-Curator based in Birmingham, UK. He currently works at Wolverhampton Art Gallery as a Creative Producer. Between 2021-23 he completed an Artist-Curator Traineeship at Eastside Projects. He set up and ran Prayer Room, a collaboration, an artwork, a project space, with Leah Hickey and Ishmail De Niro between 2023-2025. Before this he ran Cheap Cheap, between 2019-2023. Dinosaur is currently working on free house, a collaboratively run studio complex, in Digbeth, Birmingham. He is also a founding member of Kühle Wampe, a horrible collaboration based across The Midlands, that was active between 2016-2023.

Recent projects include ‘Are the Stones Standing Still’ at Staffordshire St. ‘If It Thunders on All Fool’s Day’ at Eastside Projects. Recent exhibitions at Prayer Room include, ‘Peasants Revolt Now!’ Previous exhibitions at Cheap Cheap include; Ishmail De Niro’s ‘The Saracen’s Head,’ Leah Hickey’s ‘How to Get Attention When You’re Drowning’ & Campbell Mcconnell’s ‘Harbouring Delusion.’ 

You can find Dinosaur on his Instagram.

Matthew Watson is a senior academic leader and Dean at Teesside University, where he oversees a broad portfolio spanning the social sciences, humanities, law, and the arts and creative industries. His work sits at the intersection of education, creativity, and social impact, with a strong focus on widening participation, interdisciplinary practice, and the public value of culture and the humanities.

With a background in psychology and social science, Matthew has extensive experience in curriculum development, research‑informed teaching, and external partnership working, including collaborations with schools, health services, creative organisations, and international education partners. He regularly contributes to public engagement activity and has delivered talks and projects exploring topics such as psychology, culture, belief, and creativity.

Matthew has served on a range of boards and advisory groups and brings to judging a thoughtful, evidence‑based approach, with particular interest in originality, clarity of purpose, and real‑world impact. He is especially committed to recognising work that combines creative excellence with social relevance and inclusive values.

Rachel Drury is a creative strategist and producer operating at the intersection of arts, technology, and academia. As the Co-Founder and Director of Collusion, she leads an incubator for artist-led experimentation with technology, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, creative innovation, and socially-impactful projects. Under her leadership, Collusion has become an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), known for its ART // TECH // PLAY programme which bridges the gap between creative practice and emerging technologies like AI and data science.

Deeply embedded in the regional ecosystem, Rachel is the Co-Lead for the Create Cambridge compact, a cross-sector partnership championing culture’s role in civic change and innovation. Her work is informed by a 15-year tenure at Arts Council England, where as a Senior Manager she oversaw regional partnerships and large-scale strategic investments. Rachel regularly collaborates with universities on major knowledge exchange initiatives such as the SHAPE programme with University of Cambridge, which facilitates R&D between academics and artists to generate novel public outcomes. She has served as a Research Fellow with Norwich University of the Arts, sits on Anglia Ruskin University’s Creative Industries Advisory Board, and recently brokered new collaboration between the culture sector and five HEIs across East Anglia. A specialist in place-making and sector development, she has served on several NPO boards and is an advocate for the growth and impact of the UK’s creative industries.

Laura Wasley is CEO of MAKE Southwest, where she has led the organisation since 2020 with a clear focus on strategic growth, artistic excellence, and sector-wide impact. Under her leadership, MAKE Southwest has strengthened its regional, and national reputation as a leading centre for contemporary and heritage craft, securing continued investment from Arts Council England and National Heritage Lottery Fund.

With over a decade of experience in arts education and leadership, Laura has held senior roles at Arts University Plymouth, including Head of Development, where she oversaw careers and employability, public programmes, gallery activity, and alumni engagement. She also served as Programme Leader for BA (Hons) 3D Design Crafts, delivered major European-funded projects, and played a key role in launching creative and cultural apprenticeships across the Southwest.

Laura’s work is driven by a commitment to supporting individuals to recognise and develop their skills, alongside a passion for fostering collaboration, innovation, and opportunity within the creative sector. Her leadership combines strategic insight with an empathetic, people-focused approach, enabling artists, makers, and organisations to grow, connect, and thrive.