Nick Owen

Chief Executive

Hello!  “But what do you DO, dear?” My mum has always asked me what I do for a living, and I gave up trying to explain it a long time ago.  Now I just say I love music, DJ-ing, air guitar, making playlists, cooking, eating outdoors with friends and family, travelling, the journey more than the destination, writing, editing, selling, cycling, tennis, squash, surviving squash, networking, producing something from nothing: everything which has a creative energy at its heart. My favourite artwork today? It’ll be different tomorrow.

Caroline Frankland

Business Manager

Hi I’m Caroline, I work within the resources team at TMC and look after finance, HR and the office.  I love dancing and going to see live ballet or anything with a bit of tap dancing in it.  My favourite movie of all time is Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly is such an amazing dancer).

Bethany Patience

Marketing and Communications Manager

She/her

Was once introduced at a spoken word night as the ‘Mistress of Misery’.

A decade in marketing and lifetime lover of the bizarre.

Björk and Kate Bush. Charles Bukowski and Sylvia Plath. Francis Bacon and Mackenzie Thorpe. Edward Scissorhands and Romeo and Juliet. True crime and poetry. Art deco and antique shops. Plato’s Origins of Love. Nature, the roaring 20s, my dog.

Emily York

Youth Programme Manager

Hello! I’m Em, TMC’s Youth Programme Manager, sad music enthusiast and lover of 90s American reality tv shows. Creativity is so powerful. It provides us all with unique ways to communicate and express ourselves. Anyone who knows me knows my favourite novelist is Margaret Atwood, she’s a force to be reckoned with! She/her

Levi Knight

Youth Programme Administrator

Hi, my name is Levi, a musician and sci fi fantasy book reader. Outside of work I make hip hop music (not your typical Hip Hop) and my aim is to create something similar to an audiobook for my children as they grow up – they can visit my music catalogue and hopefully find solutions to any issues they may encounter through life. I have released 2 projects ‘The Art of Summarising Life’ and ‘Trust The Process’ (Available via all streaming sites and Bandcamp). I am also a facilitator for young people, I have been doing this for around 18 months now and I find this very satisfying – I believe I was put on Earth to do this. My favourite book series is ‘The Lincanius’ trilogy by James Islington. He/Him

Lorrie Stock

Artsmark Manager

Hi I’m Lorrie, a curious and inquisitive creative who works as part of the Arts Award team. I’ve always been creative, its part of who I am and I love creativity, it allows us to explore and express ourselves in so many different ways. It makes us laugh, make us cry and make us think, that’s why I enjoy working in the creative arts and culture sector. She/her

Lisa Houlihan

Artsmark Coordinator

Hi, my name’s Lisa and I’m the Artsmark Coordinator here at The Mighty Creatives. I love music, dancing, adventures, and people…I really love meeting new people and having a chat. I have always been really passionate about music, especially old-school blues and the origins of certain genres. I used to be a massive festival goer but have less time for that now I have two small children…although they have both been to every Glastonbury festival since they were born! I’m vegan, I love cake, I used to have a massive crush on Dennis Pennis and my guilty pleasure is Love Island (don’t judge). I am inspired by expression, equality, and camaraderie. Working for TMC is exciting and inspiring because my own personal career development and wellbeing is supported and nurtured, and I get to work with an amazing team fighting for the creative voices of children and young people. She/her

Rachel Hathway

Impact & Data Manager

Hi, I’m Rach.  I am the Impact & Data Manager at TMC. I like to take on as much as I can so I am never bored.  I am very eclectic in my passions.  I love listening to a wide variety of music and watching many genres of movies.  I like to spend a lot of the little spare time I have working on craft projects, including cross-stich and I have to admit to being a bit of a gaming geek: computer games and board games.  I am really a big kid at heart and I believe my TMC family consider me to have a bit of an unhealthy panda-obsession, but I cannot let them know that they are right! She/her

Amanda McLaren

Specialist Consultant

Amanda lives in Derby and has a studio in Nottingham. Her personal practice is in the visual arts and professionally her experience includes gallery education and participatory arts. She established Partake in 2011 and her work as a freelance arts consultant spans the education, health and heritage sectors. Much of this work includes developing community/children and young people engaged programmes, undertaking external evaluation and research, and the facilitation of training or consultation. She is a co-founder of the Derby Makers group and she is a keen allotmenteer.

Michael Supple

Specialist Consultant

Michael Supple is a teacher, coach and advocate for the arts. Based in Northamptonshire, Michael works with schools and arts organisations throughout the Midlands to improve current practice and build sustainable development. Michael is also the director of Game Change Leaders, a coaching programme for young learners in KS2 and KS3.

Nettie Scriven

Specialist Consultant

Nettie is a theatre designer specialising in working with young people. She is co-artistic director of Dragon Breath Theatre having recently completed A Crack in Time at Papplewick Pumping Station. She is currently designing Cinderella at Derby Theatre and is re-interpreting part of Wollaton Hall for family viewing. She is preoccupied by the importance of creativity and the power of the imagination to support young people’s development, and the sustainability of creative approaches to teaching and learning.

Samantha Whelan

Specialist Consultant

Samantha has recently launched a new not-for-profit organisation – Platform Thirty1 – alongside her consulting work for TMC. Samantha’s belief is that significant change can happen at a grass-roots level if the right conditions are cultivated. Her practise focuses on encouraging and enabling individuals and groups to achieve their aims through creativity. Samantha’s work has largely been around the arts and education in the voluntary sector, with significant collaboration with the public and private sectors on a range of programmes.

Sara Giddens

Specialist Consultant

Dr Sara Giddens is a choreographer, teacher, creative facilitator and co-director of Bodies in Flight performance company. Sara works as a creative facilitator and project manager across the East Midlands, and currently teaches on the Dance Performance and Teaching course at UCLan. She has recently completed a a practice-led PhD supported by Dance4 and Middlesex University. Her extensive choreographic work has toured nationally and internationally. Sara is a great advocate of action-research across a range of learning contexts and is keen to support the continued development of the arts working alongside those who value the arts as a place from which to celebrate difference and embrace change.

Simon Hollingworth

Specialist Consultant

Simon is a freelance Creative Producer and has been working in the arts in Lincolnshire for around 25 years. He has a background in arts education and for 10 years was the Director at Lincoln Drill Hall. Since becoming self-employed he has worked with festivals, venues and creative projects across Lincolnshire and beyond and is currently working for Gravity Fields Festival, Threshold Studios, the TMC Emerge Project in Spalding and is also producing a large community play about women’s football.