Nikki Tomlinson was Co-Director 2020-24, steering the overall strategic vision and leading on partnerships, communications, finance, fundraising, governance, human resources and operations. She contributed to and supported the shaping of the artistic programme, initiating and co-curating International Festival of Learning and programme strands such as Dance It Dance It; artistic approaches to access and inclusive leadership.
With a background in artist development, producing, curating, performance-making and dramaturgy, she has developed interests over the past 25 years in performance, participation, social justice and interdisciplinarity, advocacy for and with artists and widening access in every sense to experimental work.
She continued to work freelance alongside her role with ID, supporting choreographers and visual artists as a producer and dramaturg on projects presented in galleries, theatres and found sites internationally. For 13 years she collaborated with artist Florence Peake, as performer in multiple works and latterly as producer on Florence’s large-scale performances. She currently works as Executive Producer with Graeme Miller.
Previous roles include Lead Artist Advisor/Producer at Artsadmin where she co-curated public artworks, initiated a European network to critically explore the politics and practices of participation, managed bursary/residency programmes and a fellowship scheme with disabled and d/Deaf artists. She curated international Weekender Labs for 10 years led by artists ranging from La Ribot to Vlatka Horvat and The Freedom Theatre Palestine, produced projects across the UK and for the Paralympic Culture Programme 2012 at the Southbank. Prior to Artsadmin she worked with Chisenhale Dance Space and with Hackney Community College as an ESOL Lecturer and Refugee Support Worker.
Nikki’s last choreographic work, a solo titled FOLLY, was presented at BIOS (Athens, 2015) and Toynbee Studios (2018) while as a dramaturg she has worked with Simone Mousset, Mamoru Iriguchi and Umama Hamido.