Boosting the Creative Industry in the North East
A recent report created by eight representatives of the North East Creative Industry and Durham researchers highlights the sector's many challenges and opportunities and indicates that more needs to be done to leverage the full potential of a thriving industry. The report indicates that the industry needs to work on defining its value and identity and what career pathways can follow from that.
Four representatives and two Durham researchers will take this report's recommendations and work over the next few months to develop solutions to boost the North East Creative Industry.
A Spotlight on the North East Creative Industry Report
Durham Researchers
Entrepreneurs in Residence
Catherine Johns
Catherine is Executive Director of Dance City. She was CEO of Kielder Observatory for 4 years, successfully guiding the organisation through the pandemic and through a business planning process, creating a happy, vibrant, high-profile, and high-performing organisation for sustainable growth. Prior to that, Catherine was Director of the North East Centre of Excellence for Satellite Applications, building the fastest-growing space cluster in the UK. Catherine was instrumental in turning the North East Technology Park from "two buildings in a field" to a £100M pioneering science park, was Vice-Chair of the United Kingdom Science Park Association, a Board Director of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP), founded the global network, Women in IASP, and sat on the Women's Advisory Board for the North East Chamber of Commerce. Catherine acts as a mentor for Creative UK, helping creative companies scale up and has previously advised companies such as NPO Southpaw Dance, and Dora Frankel Dance. Catherine is a highly experienced trustee and director, currently director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering and for iGiant, a Washington DC-based innovation accelerator, which spun out of President Obama's White House. She served on the national evaluation panel for Strength in Places, UKRI’s £300M place-based innovation fund and, in 2024, joined the Council of the British School at Rome, a multidisciplinary research institute.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-johns-2616b31/
Daniel Lemon
Dan is the creative director of the Actors Forge Newcastle. Dan set up the Actors Forge in 2018 which quickly became the largest regional center for adult acting training in the North East of England. Currently home to over 100 active students, the Forge is passionate about the development of actors throughout their artistic journey from budding actor to professional artist.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-lemon-b98b88193/
Len Collin
Len is a writer, director and producer best known for his work as a writer on prime-time TV series in the UK and Ireland, such as Soldier Soldier, The Bill, Ultimate Force, London's Burning, The Clinic, Deception, Casualty, Holby City, Eastenders and the award-winning web series Covies which he also directed and produced. His feature film Sanctuary (2016) explored a love story between a man with Down's and a woman with epilepsy. The film was critically acclaimed and has sold around the world. It won Len the accolade of Best Director at the Newport Beach International Film Festival in 2017, and Sanctuary won Best Film at the Breaking Down Barriers Film Festival in Moscow in 2018. It was also named Best Irish Film of 2017 and was voted for by the Dublin Film Critics Circle. The Michael Dwyer Discovery Award for the cast at ADIFF 2017 and Best First Irish Film at the Galway Film Fleadh 2016. Len started the film and TV production company Ballpoint Films in 2021 and has spent the last three years developing projects for the big and small screen. Ballpoint specialises in the development of quality scripts. The feature film “The Guinness Girl” is scheduled to shoot in 2025 and will be the company’s first output.
https://ballpointfilms.com/about-1
Ross G Palmer
Ross is an award-winning, multi-channel creative with over 20 years of experience across various design disciplines. Before founding WeAreKen at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ross held leadership roles in some of the largest branding, advertising, and digital agencies in the North, working on national campaigns and global brands.
Passionate about balanced design, Ross believes that all outstanding work merges two key elements: creative ideas and meticulous execution. Throughout his career, he has consistently delivered high-quality projects that blend innovation and skill, earning accolades from The Drum, the Chip Shop Awards, and the North East Marketing Awards.
Today, Ross remains a prominent figure in the North East design community, contributing as a writer, event speaker, and advocate for higher and further education.