Meet our interim advisory group members
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Jill Cole
Co-Chair, Culture Durham / Board Member, NE Culture Partnership / Director, Northern Heartlands
Jill is the Director of Northern Heartlands, until 2020 one of 16 Great Place Schemes in England funded by Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund and now an independent CIO and Arts Council NPO based in Barnard Castle, Co Durham.Her background is in theatre and community arts; as well as a role as Artistic Director of a thriving youth theatre and community theatre company for many years, she has also worked as a freelance Arts Manager for many independent arts organisations both large and small. She is currently co-chair of the interim Culture Durham Advisory Group, supporting workforce and sector skills development. Jill is passionate about using arts, culture and creativity as a means of engaging communities.
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Councillor Elizabeth Scott
Elizabeth is passionate about County Durham and wants to see the County fulfil its true potential as one of the Countries best places live, learn work and play. She devotes much of her energy to initiatives which will help the local economy to thrive. She is also keen to support local organisations who are making a difference in the lives of Durham’s residents.Elizabeth is a Cabinet Member and is the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Economy and Partnerships, which covers: Economic Development, Regeneration and Skills; Planning and Transport; Tourism and Culture; Libraries and Archives.She is an active member on the boards of Beamish Museum, The Bowes Museum, Redhills CIC, Locomotion, Visit County Durham.Elizabeth has represented the Neville’s Cross Ward on the County Council since 2017 and was elected as a Parish Councillor in May 2018.
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Julie Biddlecombe-Brown, Curator – Raby Estates
Julie is Curator at Raby Castle. She has worked in archaeology and museums for over 25 years and was previously the Exhibitions Curator at Durham University’s Palace Green Library and Heritage and Culture Team Manager for Durham County Council. Having joined the Raby Team in 2019, Julie is enjoying getting to grips with over 1,000 years of history, 41 generations of ownership, 15,000+ historic objects and 800 linear metres of archives! Outside of Raby, Julie is Vice President of the Archaeological and Architectural Society of County Durham and Northumberland, enjoys visiting historic sites, reading and relaxing by spending time on her allotment. Julie was brought up in Durham. She is passionate about the County and an enthusiastic advocate for discovering and sharing new stories about its fascinating past that will inspire residents and visitors alike.
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Hannah Fox, Executive Director -The Bowes Museum
Hannah joined The Bowes Museum in 2022 as Executive Director and loves being in the North East.Hannah’s career started as a designer working in advertising before moving into consultancy practice on place-based initiatives and design-thinking approaches. Through this, Hannah has worked with cross-sector clients on organisational developments and partnership initiatives, including supporting the founding of Derby Museums Trust and leading the development of Derby’s historic Silk Mill as the Museum of Making. This £20m museum was one of five UK museums shortlisted for UK Museum of the Year in 2022.Hannah advises on human-centred and co-production methodologies internationally and has served on several boards, including the USA-based FIGMENT Global Participatory Arts Festival.
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Deborah Heron, Director People and Culture, Beamish
Deborah joined Beamish Museum as he director of People and Culture in June 2023. She began her working career in volunteer management and came to Beamish from St Oswald’s Hospice in Newcastle where she worked as Director of People. Deborah leads on all aspects of People and Culture for over 500 staff at Beamish. She is also the project lead for the Durham Cultural and creative Skills Hub and working across the county to bring the project to life.
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Jess Hunt, Director – No More Nowt
Jess Hunt is the Director of No More Nowt (NMN), the Creative People & Places programme for County Durham, one of 38 projects across England funded by Arts Council England in areas where arts engagement is lower than national average. The programme began life as East Durham Creates before becoming a countywide programme in 2022.Jess describes her place with NMN as her first ‘proper’ job. She joined the programme in 2015 as Community Engagement Co-ordinator until taking the Director role in 2022. She was one of four individuals to represent County Durham’s bid for City of Culture 2025 in London. Known as a champion of cultural access, ambition and connection, Jess believes that everyone has the right to lead and shape culture about the place they live. A lifelong resident of the North East Jess describes herself as having ‘a Hartlepool heart and an East Durham soul’.
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Sarah Price – Head of Locomotion
Sarah joined the Science Museum Group as Head of Locomotion in August 2018. Previously Sarah had worked at Durham University as Head of Engagement and Learning, where she was responsible for the visitor operations and public programme at all of the university’s cultural venues. In the last five years, Sarah has led on the updating of interpretation across site, reinvigorating the museum’s programme of events, forging stronger links with the local community, dealing with the challenges faced by operating a museum in the time of a pandemic, and is heavily involved in the current ambitious plans to transform the site which will reach fruition in 2024. Passionate about the ability of museums to make meaningful difference to people’s lives, Sarah is committed to ensuring that Locomotion becomes a place of inspiration for young and old alike.
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Janet Stewart, Executive Dean of Arts and Humanities – Durham University
The Executive Dean is responsible for the strategic development and financial performance of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. A key academic leader, supporting and enhancing research and teaching performance within the Faculty. and an important ambassadorial role for the Faculty and the University.Janet joined Durham in 2014 from the University of Aberdeen as Professor of German and Visual Culture in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (MLAC).She was the founding Director of the Centre for Visual Arts and Culture and part of the team that successfully bid to establish a Leverhulme Doctoral Training Centre for Visual Culture in Durham. Janet’s research interests lie in visual culture, the energy humanities and Austrian and German cultural history.
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Martin Wilson MBE, Co-Director – TIN Arts
Martin Wilson MBE is the Executive Director of TIN Arts, a charity based in County Durham who’s mission is to remove barriers and increase access to high quality dance for all. TIN Arts have a studio base in Durham City and deliver programmes and activities across the North of England in school, community and theatre settings. Over the last 25 years TIN Arts have won numerous cultural and business awards in recognition for their innovative work around access, inclusion and equity in the arts. Martin was also Chair of the County Durham Cultural Education Partnership until June 2024 and is a member of the ‘National Working Group’, a collection of dance organisations across England who are working together to increase and sustain the presence and representation by disabled people in the dance workforce and its leadership.
