Network Appoints New Development Director: Creative Portal

Network, the umbrella organisation for all the regional audience development agencies operating across the UK, has secured investment from Arts Council England's Grants for the Arts to be able to appoint a new part-time Development Director, Jenny Wilson

Network Appoints New Director The appointment creates a pivotal moment for Network. The Development Director will support the development of the unique resource that Network provides to the broadest range of arts and cultural organisations across the UK. Collectively, the audience development agencies possess expertise and knowledge about audiences for the arts. Network co-ordinates activity between the agencies and delivers added value by sharing this overview with the sector, stakeholders and decision-makers to increase public access to, and participation in, arts and cultural activity.

As Network's Development Director, Jenny will deliver a programme of organisational development:

To enable the agencies to work more effectively to achieve the wider strategic objectives of the cultural sector
To build on the knowledge and expertise of individual agencies through the sharing of best practice
To enable Network members to share their collective audience intelligence UK-wide

Jenny Wilson is currently working part-time as Arts & Festivals Development Manager at Bradford Council, where she is responsible for the development and implementation of a District-wide strategic arts plan.

From 1999-2002 she worked for Audiences Yorkshire (then West Yorkshire Arts Marketing) managing their South Asian Arts audience development programme, Arts Exchange. She went on to run a successful consultancy business including several larger contracts in the East Midlands, with clients including Arts Council England, Leicester Haymarket, CIDA, Metier (former National Training Organisation for the Arts) and West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Jenny is also a performer/director, having established herself in her earlier career with Mind the... Gap and her own experimental performance company.

Paul Kaynes, Company Secretary commented:

"Network is delighted to have appointed Jenny Wilson as its new Development Director. Her appointment is the result of many years of inter-agency partnership working through Network and we now look forward to maturing into an impactful resource with unique UK reach."