Twelve years ago, way back in 2012, Vicky Holbrough and James Lowther invited me to become co-Director of Navigator North. I was honoured. Navigator was a spritely young thing – an artist led arts organisation run by spritely young Co-Founders Vicky and James who had established after many years of their own collaborations,
Like today, in 2012 I was a Graphic Designer and participatory artist and I’d collaborated with Vicky on many projects and been commissioned for the wonderful Art Land project which James and Vicky had devised and managed in Bishop Auckland, whilst Navigator was a mere twinkle in their creative eyes. Navigator aligned with my own values and I was excited to work with peers to build the creative infrastructure of the area I’d settled in.
Around this time, Navigator got hold of an empty eight-storey office block in the centre of Middlesbrough for temporary creative use in partnership with East Street Arts. As a newly-formed team, we took over this humongous space and charged ourselves with thinking about what the space could enable within the Tees Valley and how we could grow and nurture creative projects from this physical base.
Incredibly, Navigator is still based in this building, with 100s of artists having used the various spaces within as studios and for long and short term projects. Navigator currently operates from 2 buildings, Dundas House and Unit 7, Hillstreet Shopping Centre. The Tees Valley art scene beyond these walls has also grown and shifted… it hosts international artists, of all walks of life, commissioning them and providing residencies and opportunities to scale up their practices.
Now it’s 2024
Twelve years later and I’m certainly older and perhaps an ounce wiser… (readers who know me can insert their own comment here!). I find myself at a crossroads. Creatively and personally lots of things have shifted and changed for me: I’ve lost a good few people dear to me, I’m a parent of two young boys and my practice has taken me into new spaces – physically and conceptually. I have decided to step down as a Director. It’s taken me a while to come to this decision. I believe in the work of Navigator, and I love the bones of Vicky and James, and that makes it difficult to leave. But I have come to realise that people change and that’s a good thing.
Running an arts organisation takes a lot of energy. I owe it to myself and to my loved ones to give myself space and time to be a Mum, to explore the world and to look after myself. With a jam packed schedule I can’t do this. I also want to reinvigorate my own practice. The work I’m doing as an artist now, with care-experienced young people and adults who’ve experienced trauma needs a different type of attention and engagement. I am so excited by this work and I want to give it more of myself.
Navigator has morphed and grown to a different scale over the years and we’ve developed an incredible amount of projects through it. Navigator: you’re a beast! But a beast managed with precision and care, thoughtful and responsive project management and a totally collaborative spirit. Because I love the organisation, its people and its mission, I’m going to continue work as an associate. So, this is only a sort of farewell! I’ll be around; you’ll see me at events and I’ll be behind the scenes on design and visual communications. I’m still on the same digits and email so keep in touch.
Highlights
It’s not often we get chance to pause and reflect back on a big chunk of time. So I’m going to make the most of this limelight to highlight some of the best bits.
Work & Play Open Studios 2012 was a great time! We’d just recently got Dundas House, we were running The NICE Programme with emerging artists and buzzing to be able to offer 8 floors of vacant office space to the creative community of Tees Valley for studio spaces and creative space. We madly made signage for the many floors, crafted a hand drawn map and rallied the artists. It was incredible to head down to open up the doors to find a huge queue of people waiting to come in and have a good neb! The roof top tours went down a storm, there was a hum of excitement around The Print Room and the feedback was wonderful.
Trolley Dollies. The transport of choice for Navigator North is always a trolley. We have acquired a few from our various temporary spaces. Vicky always like to document me with them, obviously.
Field Trips. We love the Tees Valley, but it’s always good to venture out with fellow artists in tow. Field Trip highlights have to be Venice Biennale, Fantastique 3000 Lille, Bristol and Frieze Art Fair London. Our smaller ventures have also inspired creative thought and conversation – artist studios across the UK, making spaces, industrial manufacturers – the lot! Meeting our peers in other UK towns and cities is always motivating and encourages our own ways of making spaces work.
Prof Dev. I can’t choose just one of our professional development programmes to speak of, but since right at the beginning of my time at Navigator I’ve mentored, supported and collaborated with many artists at all levels of their practice. Each iteration has offered time with artists talking about the ecology of creativity and the ways in which we can make macro level changes to inform transformation on a bigger scale has been tremendous. We’ve never missed a beat on good food and drink either (obviously!).
Hand drawn Excel. We’re artists running an organisation. Some people forget that and just assume we’ve always been doing this. We always start with a big piece of paper, scribbles and usually a ‘hand drawn excel’. It’s a creative process through and through. We plan the projects, source the funding and run the thing!
Get Out of My Pub! After everything that happened from 2021 – 2024, taking on the former Public House The Masham in Middlesbrough was a real biggie. Seeing our name on the lightbox swinging above the door in huge black vinyl was a really proud moment. It really motivated so many people to be part of the creative landscape of Middlesbrough. The grand finale with chicken (and fake chicken) sandwiches was a fitting end too!
Here’s to further creative brilliance and wholesome joy!
The final thing I want to say, is THANK YOU!
Thank you to the artists, the collaborators, the many classy cafes we’ve frequented, the landlords and partnerships. And mostly thank you James and Vicky, for the cheese chat, boiled eggs and the corny names for all the projects that never quite make the cut! You have taught me so much and I wouldn’t have had it any other way!
#thrivation
Blog post by Nic Golightly about her experiences of being a Co-Director of Navigator North for 12 years. Nic is stepping down as a Director, but will remain as an Associate within the organisation. You can find out more about Nic’s creative practice here.