Castlefield Gallery announces 4 new Board members

Castlefield Gallery is delighted to announce that at its recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Wednesday 12 November it has elected four new dynamic Board members – including CEO of Holden Media Thom Hetherington; HR consultant Elaine Higgins; Councillor for Manchester city centre Beth Knowles; and corporate lawyer Barney Leaf.

The announcement comes as Castlefield Gallery prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary with the opening of a new exhibition 30 Years of the Future, an exhibition that sees the gallery ask prominent contemporary artists, curators and thinkers who have contributed to its 30-year history to nominate artists who they consider to be shaping the future of contemporary art.

Since its founding in 1984 by artists, it has been one of Northern England’s most active and successful organisations/agencies for developing emerging contemporary artists and practice, and this significant expansion in the galleries Board marks a key moment in the organisations development.

I am delighted to join the board of Castlefield Gallery, an organisation that has been vital to the development of both emerging artists and audiences in the North of England. The return to NPO funding provides welcome stability, but I hope to help ensure the gallery loses none of its creative commercial thinking when it comes to generating the revenues that will enable it to have a greater impact than ever. Thom Hetherington

I am delighted to join the Board at CG, an organisation that truly seeks, discovers, promotes and nurtures talent within our artistic community. I am excited about being part of a great team that works tirelessly to promote artistic opportunities whilst showcasing cutting-edge, fresh and engaging work. Elaine Higgins

I am extremely proud to have become a part of the board of directors at the Castlefield Art Gallery. The Gallery is leading the way in the North West in supporting emerging artists in innovative ways, in interesting spaces and I’m very much looking forward to continuing to work with them on projects such as New Art Spaces – pop up spaces for emerging talent in the North West over the coming years. Councillor Beth Knowles

Castlefield Gallery is an amazing organisation and I’m privileged to be able to work with it. It’s one of the unsung heroes of Manchester and has helped so many emerging artists develop their careers over the last 30 years. I love helping Director Kwong Lee and the team at Castlefield Gallery add to the many successes and achievements they bring to the city and the art world. Barney Leaf

The four new members will be joining existing Board members including Development Director at HOME Marla Cunningham (Chair), Curator at Manchester Art Gallery Kate Jesson; artist and Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at Manchester School of Art Ian Rawlinson; Senior Digital Development Officer at Manchester Digital Development Agency Adrian Slatcher, Solicitor Peter Southeran; and Managing Partner of stephenson:ISA STUDIO Roger Stevenson OBE.

I am delighted to welcome all of our new trustees to the Castlefield Board. Castlefield Gallery continues to grow in influence around the region and having a strong and varied board will be key to keeping this momentum going and helping us deal with challenges we may face. We are grateful that such a wonderfully talented group is volunteering their time to help drive the Gallery forward. Marla Cunningham