We are thrilled to announce the appointment of five new Trustees to our Board. These new Board members will play a crucial role in supporting Spike Island to develop and thrive into 2021 and beyond, and to deliver upon our commitments to diversity and equality across all areas.
NEWLY APPOINTED TRUSTEES
STARTING DECEMBER 2020
- Linda Brothwell, artist and current Spike Island studio holder
- Catherine Frankpitt, Founder & Director, Strike Communications
- Imran Perretta, artist and educator, commissioned artist/exhibitor at Spike Island (the destructors, 2019)
STARTING 2021
- Marie Bak Mortensen, Head of Exhibitions & Interpretation, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
- Jazlyn Pinckney, Inclusion Producer, South West Creative Technology Network
Andrew Cooper, Chair, said:
“These five new appointments exemplify an exciting future direction for Spike Island: one where we respond to the rapidly changing cultural sector; increasingly harness the potential of digital technology; and challenge ourselves to transform our working culture as we work towards our anti-racism commitments. I am thrilled to welcome our new Trustees to support the organisation on an exciting road ahead.”
Robert Leckie, Director, said:
“Following an overwhelmingly successful and genuinely inspiring open call recruitment process, I am hugely excited about the fresh energy and perspectives that our new Board members will bring to the table at this critical time for Spike Island. Despite the huge challenges that the cultural sector at large faces at this time, perhaps now more than ever we also have the opportunity to fundamentally change and develop our organisation for the better.”
LINDA BROTHWELL
Linda Brothwell is a British visual artist. Her multidisciplinary practice casts her as a maker of objects, tools and publicly sited interventions. Her ongoing Acts of Care series initiated a repair movement in the arts and earned recognition through international gallery support, the Jerwood Makers Open (2013), and a place on the Design of the Year shortlist (2009). In 2019 she travelled to Japan as a Churchill Fellow researching The Lifecycle of Tools in Japanese Culture. She has exhibited globally with Palais de Tokyo, representing the UK at Cheongju Craft Biennial and EXD biennial.
Brothwell is a graduate of The Royal College of Art (2009) and Sheffield Hallam University (2005). Recent solo exhibitions include: The Tool Appreciation Society during Hull’s City of Culture and Conversations in Making, the first contemporary art exhibition at Stonehenge. Her work is included in the V&A and RCA permanent collections and private collections worldwide.
She said:
“I am delighted to become a trustee of Spike Island, especially at this pivotal time for both the arts community and our city. I look forward to working with the trustees to deliver Spike Island’s vision of supporting artists”
CATHERINE FRANKPITT
Catherine Frankpitt is the founder of Bristol-based strategic communications consultancy Strike Communications. She has worked for over 20 years in Bristol in PR and communications, and has extensive experience of supporting a broad range of arts and cultural organisations.
Most recently in Bristol she has been working with Bristol Music Trust on the multi million pound transformation of the venue now known as Bristol Beacon. Previously, she was Director of Communications & Creative Strategy at UWE Bristol, where she was responsible for leading the strategic communications, marketing, brand, alumni engagement and philanthropy for what is one of the UK’s largest and most successful universities. She also previously led the communications for Bristol City Council’s bid to become European Green Capital.
She said:
“Spike Island has supported and showcased so much talent over the years, and I want to ensure it comes out the other side of the pandemic in the best position: so that it can continue to thrive and grow in the years to come, inspiring new audiences and creating even more opportunities, particularly for new and emerging artists.”
IMRAN PERRETTA
Imran Perretta is an artist and educator living and working in London. Working across moving-image, sound, performance and poetry, Perretta’s work addresses biopower, marginality and the (de)construction of cultural histories.
He said:
“Spike Island is one of the country’s most vital creative communities and, as a new Trustee, I am honoured to be able to further participate in its uniquely nurturing, cross-disciplinary and convivial culture.”
MARIE BAK MORTENSEN
With 15 years’ experience working across the visual arts and creative industries, Marie Bak Mortensen is currently Head of Exhibitions at the Royal Institute of British Architects, where she leads a department responsible for exhibitions, commissions, and public programming. Prior to this, Marie spent six years at Tate, devising and delivering large-scale partnership projects and exhibitions in collaboration with UK museums and galleries. Before relocating to the UK, she undertook research into the regeneration of modernist social housing estates on behalf of the Danish government and worked as Assistant Curator at the Danish Design Centre.
Having studied at the University College London and undertaken an MA in Modern Culture and Curatorial Studies at University of Copenhagen, she is currently a HS2 Design Panel Member and was part of the curatorial selection panel for the 2016 British Pavilion. She has also written and lectured about cultural collaborations and networks.
She said:
“I have admired Spike Island since my first visit a decade ago, and I am thrilled to now be joining the organisation as a Trustee. I look forward to working with board and staff to strengthen this impressively versatile organisation during a time when art and creativity, more than ever, are needed to inspire audiences of all backgrounds.”
JAZLYN PINCKNEY
Jazlyn is the Creative Workforce for the Future Inclusion Producer and Former Producer of the Moth, non-profit group based in New York City. Jazlyn implements and evaluates thoughtful inclusion strategies to deliver impactful cultural and institutional change.
She said:
“I am beyond thrilled to be one of the new trustees of Spike Island. At this moment in history, arts and culture feel like a lifeline to change, and that gives me such hope. I bring my fanatical belief that intersectional inclusion will guide us all to create radical and exciting new possibilities.”