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Board

Photo: two cane handled tea pots with Shino glaze, Porcelain slip and incised decoration. Maker: Rory Shearer. Photo credit: Declan Shearer

Board Members

Kim Mawhinney

Board Member (CHAIR)

Appointed Head of Art in 2009 at the National Museums, Northern Ireland, Kim was Curator of Applied Art at the Ulster Museum for 15 years with responsibility for the glass, ceramic and furniture collections.

As a member of the Project Board for the redevelopment of the Ulster Museum, Kim currently sits on the main Board for the Art and Architecture Ireland, a cross-border major research publication. Throughout her career she has curated, juried and selected exhibitions, lectured and written about the history and development of museums, accessibility of art collections, glass and ceramics, both nationally and internationally.

Rachel Fitzpatrick

Board Member

After graduating from the University of Ulster’s School of Art and Design, as an Artist and Designer, Rachel has travelled the world producing work for an international client base from Belfast to New York. Creating one-off installations and limited-edition pieces for corporate/ private interiors and special events; such as installations for Peugeot’s Flagship showrooms in Paris & Berlin, Rachel has also produced pieces for New York’s luxury 5th Avenue Store, Bergdorf Goodman. Whilst a career highlight for Rachel was an invitation to create huge lighting sculpture for The Hollywood Reporter’s inaugural show house in Century City, Los Angeles. Closer to home Rachel has worked with the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland (DDCOI) to create lighting sculptures SHOWCASE Ireland Design event in Dublin.

Julie Carse

Board Member

Joining the Craft NI Board in 2010, Julie currently works in the Higher Education Sector supporting the Registrar and Chief Operating Officer of Queen’s University Belfast. Previously, for 14 years, Julie was a Business Improvement Project Manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Operational Effectiveness Team delivering successful business consulting projects in process and change across public and private sectors.

James Toland

Board Member

As an experienced Director, James has a broad spectrum of experience within Business Development and Operations, from Finance and HR, through to Sales, Marketing & Communications.

In his spare time, James is a Business Mentor to various organisations and start-ups including Young Enterprise Year Groups. He is a previous member of the NI Committee of the Institute of Directors and a previous Chairperson of the Education and Skills Committee of the Institute of Directors in NI. Now as Chair of Craft NI, one of James’ key objectives is to raise awareness of the high quality of craft in Northern Ireland and to develop craft retail here even further.

Dr Christopher McHugh

Board Member

Chris McHugh has been Lecturer in Ceramics at Belfast School of Art at Ulster University since 2017. As well as teaching, his research interests focus on three inter-related areas: (a) artistic approaches to archives and museum collections with an emphasis on community engagement and participation; (b) an exploration of the relationship between artistic and archaeological research methodologies; and, (c) an interest in the role clay, ceramics and grassroots making can play in encouraging wellbeing.

Olivia Stewart

Board Member

Olivia is responsible for internal and external communications from NI Chamber of Commerce, maintaining the organisation’s strong local and national media profile and delivering the marketing strategy. She holds an Honours Degree in Law with Politics from Queen’s University Belfast, as well as a Master’s Degree in Business Studies from Ulster University. Prior to joining the Communications & Policy team, Olivia was an Account Manager in one of Northern Ireland’s foremost communications agencies.

Patricia Flanagan

Board Member

With over 25 years’ experience working within the enterprise and education sectors, Patricia has spent 14 years within the Craft Sector in NI. Currently self-employed as a specialist facilitator of design thinking/ creative problem solving, Patricia delivers a range of programmes to students, business communities, social entrepreneurs and the third sector. Patricia also pioneered the integration of creative problem-solving projects for social good in the curriculum within Belfast Metropolitan College and was Project Manager for the new Belfast Metropolitan College campus, referred to as e3.

Over the years, Patricia has forged strong working relationships across Ireland and abroad, with key economic development agencies, with enterprise partners, political representatives, community organisations, funders, government departments and the business community in Northern Ireland.

Rory Shearer

Board Member

Rory Shearer is an established Artist/Designer/Maker with his own studio in County Antrim, producing wheel-based vessel forms in Porcelain and Reduced Stoneware. He was Specialist Lecturer in Ceramics at Belfast Metropolitan College, having studied Ceramics at the Ulster College of Art and Design. With extensive experience in and of the Craft, Applied Art and Design Sector in Northern Ireland, Rory was also a founder member and first secretary of The Guild of Designer Craftsmen (NI) and Crafts Development Officer with Craftworks. Rory is also the Chair of Craft NI’s Craft Advisory Panel.

Gail Wright

Board Member

Gail is a senior Human Resources specialist with over 20 years experience in the Financial Services sector and more recently in the NI voluntary sector with Autism Initiatives NI. Her areas of specialism include employee engagement, talent and performance management, employee relations, team leadership and development, Coaching and Mentoring and absence management. She joined the Board of Craft NI in 2020 and she has also worked in a voluntary capacity as a counsellor with Victim Support for over 10 years.

Patricia McNeill

Board Member

In addition to being a board member, Patricia McNeill is the Manager of Ormeau Business Park which is the Local Enterprise Agency for South Belfast.

She is also a member of:

South Belfast Partnership Board (Director)
Growth, Trade and Enterprise Sub Group within the South Belfast Economic Forum (Chair)
QUB Advisory Board Member of Enactus
Princes’ Trust, Business Launch Group (Panel Member)
Cross Border Local Enterprise Partnership (Committee member)

Through her current position, Patricia is involved in business support at pre-start, start up and growth stages for the small business sector; and is particularly interested in the entrepreneurial journey of those within the creative industries. With her background as a graduate of the University of Ulster (School of Textiles/Fashion), Patricia also holds a Master of Science with Distinction in Innovation Management.

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Charity Number: Craft NI 106410