North area council
Meet the members of our North Area Council.
Meet the members of our North Area Council.
Annabel Turpin
National Council member and North Area Chair
Annabel Turpin is Chief Executive of Storyhouse in Chester, one of the country’s largest arts centres, incorporating theatres, a cinema and the city’s library, and welcoming more than 800,000 visitors a year.
She is also Co-Director of the 140-strong Future Arts Centres national network, championing the role of arts centres in driving social, economic and cultural change.
In her previous role, as CEO and Artistic Director of ARC in Stockton on Tees, Annabel established the venue as a leading North East arts organisation with national and international influence, including for its Pay What You Decide pricing and arts freelancers’ policies. She founded Venues North, developing best practice through a network of venues supporting artists making new work, and produced and toured new theatre work nationally and internationally.
Prior to her 15 years at ARC, she was Director of Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead from 2002-2008.
She is a long-term advocate of purposeful strategic collaboration, and horizontal and vertical sector partnerships. She played a significant role in securing £20million+ investment in local creative industries as Deputy Chair and Strategic Lead for Creative Place for the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s Business Board. She has previously held a number of board positions including North East Culture Partnership, North East Screen Industries Partnership, Sunderland Culture and Tangled Feet.
Her advisory roles include as a consultant, facilitator and speaker to venues, theatre companies, national and international cultural bodies.
Term of appointment: 1 December 2023 – 30 November 2027.
Twitter/X: @annabelturpin
www.storyhouse.com
https://futureartscentres.org.uk/
In her previous role, as CEO and Artistic Director of ARC in Stockton on Tees, Annabel established the venue as a leading North East arts organisation with national and international influence, including for its Pay What You Decide pricing and arts freelancers’ policies. She founded Venues North, developing best practice through a network of venues supporting artists making new work, and produced and toured new theatre work nationally and internationally.
Prior to her 15 years at ARC, she was Director of Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead from 2002-2008.
She is a long-term advocate of purposeful strategic collaboration, and horizontal and vertical sector partnerships. She played a significant role in securing £20million+ investment in local creative industries as Deputy Chair and Strategic Lead for Creative Place for the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s Business Board. She has previously held a number of board positions including North East Culture Partnership, North East Screen Industries Partnership, Sunderland Culture and Tangled Feet.
Her advisory roles include as a consultant, facilitator and speaker to venues, theatre companies, national and international cultural bodies.
Term of appointment: 1 December 2023 – 30 November 2027.
Twitter/X: @annabelturpin
www.storyhouse.com
https://futureartscentres.org.uk/
Javaad Alipoor
Artist, writer and director
Javaad Alipoor is an award winning writer, director and artist. His theatre work has toured internationally. His digital hybrid art has been selected for The Sundance Film Festival and screened on The BBC. He is the founding artistic director of The Javaad Alipoor Company, a member of the court of the University of Bradford and was a founding trustee of Artistic Directors of the Future.
Syima Aslam
Director
Bradford Literature Festival
Syima Aslam is Director of the Bradford Literature Festival which she founded in 2014. Hailed as one of the most innovative and inspirational festivals in the UK, BLF brings together literature from around the world and across all genres, promotes intercultural fluency and reflects the changing face of contemporary Britain. Prior to this, Syima worked in the inward investment, automotive, data marketing and education sectors.
Patrick Chapman
Vice Principal
The Northern School of Art
Patrick Chapman is Vice Principal at The Northern School of Art (formerly Cleveland College of Art & Design) where he has responsibility for undergraduate employability, external relations, student recruitment and strategic and creative industry partnerships. He led the Creative Partnerships programme across England, was a Director of the former Government Office for the North East and has co-owned a commercial art gallery.
Cllr Janet Emsley
Labour Cllr, Littleborough Lakeside
Councillor Janet Emsley is the Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Equalities, Safety and Reform at Rochdale Council. She has been based in the Littleborough ward of Rochdale for most of her life. Janet has been the driving force behind a number of initiatives in Rochdale Borough. Janet was a teacher at various schools and institutions in Rochdale, finally retiring as Director of Performing Arts at Wardle Academy to concentrate on her role as a Councillor.
Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe
Leader
Bradford Council
Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe is Leader of Bradford Metropolitan District Council which will be the proud of host of the UK City of Culture in 2025. She sees arts and culture as an integral part of making a successful place, as a driver of regeneration and believes that culture can positively change people’s lives.
Cllr Luthfur Rahman
Labour Councillor representing Longsight - Executive Member for Skills, Culture & Leisure
Manchester City Council
Cllr Rahman is Deputy Leader and Local Councillor for the Longsight ward for Manchester City Council and a passionate advocate for arts and culture's place in cities and wider communities. He was integral in the making of the Festival of Manchester and helped Manchester achieve the UNESCO City of Literature status.
Graeme Thompson
Pro Vice Chancellor
University of Sunderland
Graeme Thompson is Pro Vice Chancellor for External Relations at the University of Sunderland, joining the university in 2009 after more than 25 years as a producer and executive with ITV and the BBC.
Graeme chairs the award-winning Arts Council-funded Creative People and Places project, The Cultural Spring and was the launch chair of Sunderland Culture (2016-21) He is a board member of North East Screen and the Sunderland Music Arts and Culture Trust as well as the Yorkshire and North East Film and Television Archive. He was awarded the MBE in 2021 for services to culture-led regeneration in Sunderland.
Cherylee Houston MBE
Cherylee has played Izzy Armstrong in Coronation Street for the last thirteen years. She has had aix seasons of Tinsel Girl, her memoir based plays on Radio 4, including three series on Woman’s Hour. She is the cofounder of TripleC who run DANC, The Disabled Artists Networking Community with over 1600 deaf, disabled and / or neurodivergent creatives and allies. TripleC won the Bafta Special Award in 2022 at The Craft Awards for their work in disability and television.
Cherylee was awarded the Achievement of The Year Award at The Women in Film And Television Awards 2019 and more recently The Doubleday Award, from Manchester University’s Centre for Patient Experience, for significant contribution to patient care. Cherylee started the #TakingTheDis hashtag to promote the different life experiences of disabled people. TripleC is dedicated to changing the way disabled people are included in and access the arts, ensuring the way we are reflected in the media impacts on the way we (disabled people) are treated in society.
Cherylee received an MBE in the New Years honours list 2022 for services to disabled people and drama.
Cherylee received an MBE in the New Years honours list 2022 for services to disabled people and drama.
Sean Lawless
Head of Digital and Data
Sean Lawless is a Head of Digital and Data at a North East based Housing Association. A key part of the role is addressing the increasing digital divide in the North East, working with communities to ensure they have access to digital solutions and are not excluded. He is a passionate supporter for arts and cultural development in the North, with a keen focus on independent music venues and children’s access to the arts.
Edenamiuki Aiguobasinmwin
Creative Director
Elevate Young Minds CIc
Edenamiuki is an artist, Creative Director of multiple initiatives focused on supporting artists, entrepreneurs, and leaders through Elevate Young Minds CIC, Young Creative Leaders, Dance Studio Manchester, Festival Festival, Break Dance Manchester, Young Minds Matter Festival, and Rotation Dance Exchange schools and community provision. He is also a member of Arts Council England, North Area Council. 2023 Commonwealth Sound Relay Northern Ambassador.
Recognized by the United Nations Alliance (Plural+), Commonwealth Secretariat, TedxKigali Countdown, HWPL South Korea, and World Youth Development Forum China 2023, Edenamiuki has participated in prestigious forums and events that have shaped his perspective and fuelled his passion for positive change. These experiences have taken him across the globe, providing opportunities to collaborate, learn, and advocate for meaningful causes.
Commissioned to develop and perform works such as ‘Reformation’ and ‘Exploring the Man’ at various local and international platforms like The Civic Theatre in Dublin, York Theatre Royal, Ludus Dance, Stadler’s Well, and Tedx Kigali, Edenamiuki's journey as a Young Creative Community Leader began during his BA(Hons) in Dance and MA in Choreography at Leeds Beckett University from September 2014 to September 2019. Notable events include presenting the “Young Minds Matter” Festival at Leeds Beckett University with 20 local and international artists of different disciplines. In subsequent years, he delivered EKA Palace in Lisbon, Portugal, and Young Minds Matter in Brussels, Belgium, working with over 100 artists. In 2019, he introduced Face Festival in the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Tanzania, which resurfaced post-lockdown as an annual multifaceted program in the UK.
Commissioned to develop and perform works such as ‘Reformation’ and ‘Exploring the Man’ at various local and international platforms like The Civic Theatre in Dublin, York Theatre Royal, Ludus Dance, Stadler’s Well, and Tedx Kigali, Edenamiuki's journey as a Young Creative Community Leader began during his BA(Hons) in Dance and MA in Choreography at Leeds Beckett University from September 2014 to September 2019. Notable events include presenting the “Young Minds Matter” Festival at Leeds Beckett University with 20 local and international artists of different disciplines. In subsequent years, he delivered EKA Palace in Lisbon, Portugal, and Young Minds Matter in Brussels, Belgium, working with over 100 artists. In 2019, he introduced Face Festival in the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Tanzania, which resurfaced post-lockdown as an annual multifaceted program in the UK.