FESTIVAL of Thrift is returning this September and it is expanding its board and calling for more applicants.
A well-known Tees Valley performer and musician and a former MEP has been appointed to the board of Festival of Thrift Community Interest Company and a search is underway for more new faces.
Mike McGrother, Julie Ward and Nina Byrne have joined the festival’s founding board members Stella Hall, Gerardine Hemingway MBE, Wayne Hemingway MBE and John Orchard to support the future strategic direction of the award-winning celebration of sustainable living.
A further round of recruitment is currently underway and aimed at encouraging young and underrepresented communities to join the board, with appointments due to finalised by April.
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New board member Nina Byrne is an arts marketing professional and has over 15 years of experience in senior arts marketing roles at North East arts organisations including National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, Dance City and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA).
She said: “I am thrilled to be joining the board of such a unique and inspiring initiative. Festival of Thrift's focus on sustainable living and celebrating creativity in everyday life are of great personal interest and importance to me, and I have huge belief in the Festival’s potential to impact and enhance the lives of many more people, communities and the world we live in.
“Having attended with my sons for many years and taken part in many inspiring events and activities, seen wonderful performances and having made some amazing creations, I now look forward to using my skills and experience in support of Festival of Thrift’s ongoing development, to help shape its exciting future and raise its profile locally, nationally and internationally.”
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Fellow appointee Mike McGrother has worked in the Tees Valley for the past three decades as a performer, with the Haverton Hillbillies and The Wildcats of Kilkenny, and also as Stockton International Riverside Festival’s (SIRF) music coordinator.
He created Middlesbrough Music Live, has worked with Stockton Riverside College and ARC, and was appointed as Stockton’s Creative Partner.
Mike said: “I am delighted to be a part of the next chapter in the life of Festival of Thrift. I have long admired it, not just as an event that provides entertainment and togetherness, but as a signature festival that strives for integrity, providing a voice for sustainability and for the good of our community and our planet.
“As a regular performer at, and attender of, Thrift I have seen what a wonderful thing it is, providing a safe, inclusive environment for thousands of people. I hope that in my new role as director I can add some of my own creative ideas, passion for the area and champion the event and organisation across the wider community. Thrift is a local festival of national, indeed international, importance. I will give my all to help it thrive in its mission to help us change, save and enjoy the world we live in.”
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The third new board member Julie Ward has been active in thefield of culture for over four decades.
She represented the North West of England as an MEP from 2014 to 2019 and is currently involved in Culture Declares Emergency, the COP26 NE Coalition Organising Committee and is the Co-chair of Urban Economy Forum and the Purposeful Policies Working Group for Our Shared World.
Julie said that joining the board is both a privilege and a responsibility and she hoped to bring Festival of Thrift to the notice of an international audience whilst inspiring people to act locally.
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“Festival of Thrift encompasses many things I care about. I was brought up in a household where nothing was wasted. My mum was a patchwork quilter who repurposed discarded clothes. Dad was a gardener who grew prize onions. We ate Sunday leftovers on Monday.
“I went to university in my 50s to study international development and learnt about the Millennium Development Goals. The world failed to meet them but the subsequent Sustainable Development Goals are relevant for everyone not just for less developed countries - they recognise our collective stewardship of the planet.
“Festival of Thrift makes sustainability fun. I spent a large part of my life running an arts co-cop and performing outdoors so I love the festival atmosphere. We must remember to celebrate more things more often. We need to engender hope not despair.”
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Festival of Thrift’s Executive Director Emma Whitenstall said: “We are delighted to welcome Nina, Mike and Julie to our board. They are joining at a very exciting time for Festival of Thrift and their experience, expertise and insight will be invaluable as we move on to the next stage of our development.”
“Our ambition is to build our board to ten members in this, our 10th anniversary year, and we are excited to secure a strong board that reflects the communities we work with.”
Applications for the second round of board recruitment are now being invited from individuals who are passionate about sustainability and who share Festival of Thrift’s ideas of connecting that to the widest possible community through arts and culture.
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The festival is especially keen to encourage applications from young people to bring new energy and a fresh perspective into the organisation. Applications from underrepresented communities are equally sought to contribute to a diversity of lived experience and insight on the board.
Previous director experience is not required as mentoring and training will be provided.
For further information and to apply visit https://www.festivalofthrift.co.uk/our-board/ or click here.
Festival of Thrift is funded thanks to generous support from Arts Council England, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority.
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