Northeast Gallery Welcomes Second Director in July
Kate Brindley has been appointed as mima’s new Director. Kate will be the second director to lead Middlesbrough's internationally renowned gallery, following on from Founding Director Godfrey Worsdale. It is anticipated that Kate will formally take up her duties at mima in mid July 2009.
Kate studied art history at Leeds University and museum and gallery studies at Manchester University. She has 15 years of experience in the sector, combining work on the curatorial side with major museum redevelopment projects. Her particular curatorial interest is in 20th Century and contemporary art.
For the past four years Kate has been Director of Museums, Galleries and Archives for Bristol City Council and leader of the South West Renaissance in the Regions programme. She was the first Director of the newly integrated Museums and Archives service for the City of Bristol, which encompasses four nationally designated museum and archive collections, and visits of over 600,000 annually.
Her achievements in Bristol have included developing the vision and securing funding for the Museum of Bristol, a new £26 million museum being built now on Bristol's historic waterfront.
She said: “I am extremely excited about taking up the post, and to furthering mima’s ambition locally and globally. I am passionate about making the visual arts accessible and truly believe in the power of the arts to enrich lives. As a child I was inspired to work in the arts following trips to the Mappin and Graves Art Galleries in Sheffield, and as a result I am extremely committed to working with young people and learning and look forward to building on the great work mima already does in this area.”
Councillor Dave Budd, Middlesbrough Council's Executive Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, said: "We always appreciated that the departure of Godfrey Worsdale left big shoes to fill. However Kate's appointment is a major coup for mima and the town as a whole. To attract such a high-profile nationally known figure as Kate to Middlesbrough demonstrates the strategic importance that mima is taking on the national arts scene.”
Kate is one of only two national advisors for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Art Funding Programme and is a member for the national working group on Contemporary Art Collecting led by the Arts Council. She also is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Photo:
Dave Charnley Photography
