Who We Are

Patrons

Sir Anthony Caro; David Hockney

Trustees

Sir Ian McKellen; Jude Kelly OBE; Prof. Helen Storey; Yasmin Alibhai-Brown; Nihal Arthanayake; Ian Thompson

 

Founder and Chair

Jude Kelly OBE is founder and now chair of Metal, having spent the first three years of Metal's development as artistic director.  She is an award-winning theatre director who for the last five years has been one of the top ten most powerful people in British Theatre.  In her 26-year career, Jude founded Solent People’s Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre, and West Yorkshire Playhouse (WYP).  At the WYP, she established an acknowledged centre of excellence on a local, national and international scale, developing a centre for the arts with an ever-expanding policy of access for all. 

She is currently artistic director at the South Bank Centre, and Chair of the Olympic Culture and Education Committee for London 2012.

Jude is an ambassador for the arts, having represented Britain within UNESCO on cultural matters, served on the Arts Advisory Committee for Royal Society of Arts, and jointly chaired with Lord Puttnam the Curricula Advisory Committee on Arts and Creativity.  She is Chair of Common Purpose International Trust, board member of The British Council, board member of the Liverpool Biennial, and Visiting Professor at Kingston and Leeds Universities.  She is much in demand as a commentator and spokesperson for the arts, appearing on national radio and television.

 

Staff

Colette Bailey is Metal's Managing Director - since the company's inception in 2002.  She brings extensive experience of working in large scale public arenas via public art consultancy, exhibitions, participatory design projects and education projects.  Her professional experience is mainly in the Visual Arts.  She was managing director of the Royal Society of British Sculptors (RBS) from 1998 - 2002.  Responsible for devising and implementing the Society’s strategy for growth and modernisation during this time, she also set up the now established RBS Gallery to investigate current sculptural issues and promote collaboration and experimentation.  She established the RBS commission consultancy and continues to manage large scale, high profile public projects.  She is a freelance writer and commentator on the arts and has published articles in a number of journals and publications.  Colette is based at Metal in Southend on Sea.

Ian Brownbill is Project Manager at Metal.  He is a musician who formerly played with the multi-award-winning Black Dyke Mills Band and toured all over the world playing with artists such as Tori Amos and Barclay James Harvest.  He has written numerous articles on brass bands for music journals and has been involved with several music education projects, including teaching at St. Vincent’s School for the Blind.  Alongside his music career, Ian has developed extensive experience in business development and project management within community and corporate contexts.  Amongst other Metal projects, Ian researched and wrote the original story for the theatre production, King Cotton -  written by Jimmy McGovern and produced by Liverpool Culture Company and The Lowry in association with Metal in 2007.  Ian is based at Metal in Liverpool.

Jenny Porter is Project Manager at Metal.  She is a visual artist.  She joined Metal from the administrative team at FACT, the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology in Liverpool.  She has a wide knowledge of digital and new media work.  With fantastic IT skills, Jenny is an experienced administrator, and is developing her skills as a project manager at Metal.  Jenny is based at Metal in Liverpool.

Siva Zagel is responsible for developing Metal's programme in Liverpool.  She is a theatre practitioner, with fifteen years experience in this artform.  For the past five years, she has been General Manager for the C venues at Edinburgh Festival, responsible for the smooth running of programmes and staff in 16 temporary venues across Edinburgh for the duration of the festival in August.  Her theatrical experience includes various positions ranging from Follow Spot Operator to Company Manager and including international touring, UK tours and West End theatres, from Opera, dance to drama.  Siva is based at Metal in Liverpool.

Sean Mcloughlin is responsible for developing Metal's programme in Southend on Sea.  He is a musician, and is an experienced music promoter, having been instrumental in the development of the Sutton with Shopland Festival in Rochford, Essex from 2004 - 2007.  In his role at Southend's YMCA he developed the pioneering Cue Music recording studio and accredited Open College Network course for young people.  He is skilled at developing and delivery a wide range of arts projects and disciplines.  Sean is based at Metal in Southend on Sea.

Polly Moseley works with Metal to develop International Partnerships, and shared programmes of work with organisations overseas.  Having recently graduated from the Clore Leadership Programme in 2007,  her skills combine a wide knowledge of the arts disciplines, with broad working knowledge of UK and European policy development and implementation.  Her last role involved pioneering arts and public health partnerships for Arts Council England, North West.  Previously she worked for One North East as Senior Enterprise Officer and Newcastle City Council in the role of Policy Development Officer for Econonmic Development.  Polly is based between Metal in Southend on Sea and France.

Grace Acton is Administrator and Programme Assistant at Metal.  She is a visual artist, with a dual honours degree in Visual Arts and Biochemistry.  She brings a multi-disciplinary approach and understanding to her work at Metal, along with experience in administration and curating.  Grace is based at Metal in Southend on Sea.