Penny Payne is an artist & curator of North East Open Call, working on the North East coast. Through sculpture and installation, her practice considers and brings attention to overlooked women's histories. Penny has shown work at M.A.W in 2018/19/22 She also presented new work that combined research and traditional practice as part of the exhibition 'Sonia Boyce: In The Castle Of My Skin' at MIMA in 2021. Most recently Penny was part of a discussion panel for The National Gallery.

David Hoyland is the founder of Seventeen, a contemporary art gallery with a focus on moving image. Founded by David in 2005, Seventeen exhibits works by emerging artists, with a particular focus on moving image. The gallery was initially located in Shoreditch in 2014 moved into a larger, more versatile 3,000ft space in Dalston. The programme demonstrates a commitment to video, screen based work and experiments with new digital technologies, with the majority of represented artists having a significant video and film component to their practice.

Séamus McCormack is Senior Curator with New Contemporaries. Séamus was previously Assistant Curator at the Whitechapel Gallery, London and at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin. In a freelance capacity he has curated exhibitions including at Lismore Castle Arts, Waterford; The LAB, Dublin; Luan Gallery, Athlone; Sarabande London and The Bomb Factory, London. Since 2021 he has programmed Commonage Projects, Bethnal Green, presenting solo exhibitions with emerging artists.

Rose McMurray is an Assistant Curator at Baltic where she contributes to the strategic direction of the artistic programme by working closely with the Curators to coordinate the delivery of exhibitions, creative projects, residencies, and Artists Development Programme.

This year Rose has co-curated Baltic Open Submission 2024 and assisted in the delivery of the first major retrospective exhibition of feminist, activist, social documentary photographer Franki Raffles.

In the past Rose has curated and produced numerous Lightbox Commissions with artists Jill Tate, Joanne Coates and gobscure. For her curatorial practice she is interested in the social and political context of the region and the production of artistic practice locally and internationally. In the past she has researched and wrote about the civic responsibilities of arts institutions and hierarchical structures that sit within them. Prior to Baltic she was intern assistant and producer at D6: Culture in Transit.

Amani Mitha completed a B.A. in Politics at Queen Mary University of London and an M.A. in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art. She is an independent curator, writer, and speaker, having worked on several UK-based and international projects.

Amani has been working within the festival sector for the past six years, curating a video and film installation as part of the Asia Triennial Manchester in 2018, which later toured Berlin. Following this, she collaborated with Rashid Rana for Manchester International Festival in 2021. More recently, Amani was working with the Performance Arcade in New Zealand and worked on Liverpool Biennial's 12th edition and 25th anniversary.

Amani's current research examines contemporary social issues, including diaspora, identity, culture, and politics, reflecting a commitment to addressing the urgent cultural narratives of our time.

Alex Zawadzki is the founder of The Second Act Gallery, a contemporary gallery established in the North of England and now touring exhibitions between there, and East London. The gallery delivers a programme with an emphasis on the inclusion of artists for the North; and also those from working class backgrounds, to support the growth of a diverse eco-system of British artists.

Alex is also one half of artist-curator duo 'Uncultured Creatives' working in partnership with artist Jamie Holman, to deliver complex commissions that draw from the unique and idiosyncratic cultural factors that make us 'who we are.' This has included 'Flashback' a Rough Trade Books publication plus online interview archive on Blackburn' Acid House nostalgia; Lancashire's commission for the Queen's jubilee resulting in an 18 metre long tapestry; and 'Wonderful Electric' a significant series of digital, light and installation artworks.

Helen Welford is Exhibition and Collection Curator at MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art. She specialises in the management of the Middlesbrough Collection held at MIMA and on the development and production of large-scale exhibitions. Helen’s research interests include feminist practice and representations of queer identities.