19 April 2006
Arts Council and MMU promote regional talent
London journalist appointed to Miriad
LONDON’s art critics have ignored the North West for too long, according to Judith Palmer, a familiar face on the South Bank and a new appointment to MMU as Critical Writer-in-Residence.
Judith, a literature consultant at the Royal Festival Hall for many years and a critic for The Independent, has left the capital behind for a year to explore some of the region’s under-exposed artistic treasures.
Funded by the Arts Council for England, her role alongside Miriad’s Professor Margaret Harrison, is intended to raise the national and international profile of art which is little-known south of the Pennines.
Media spotlight
And she says her new Manchester base will make a practical if not spiritual difference to the art she choses to put in the media spotlight.
“London art critics are certainly aware there is a lot of interesting work going on in the north but all too infrequently get up here. This is a real opportunity for me to get to know the region and appreciate its artistic life.
“I aim to provide a critical platform for work going on in the NW and will write what I see, be it in Cumbria, Manchester or here at MMU.”
Library collections
Judith has said she is interested in the Library special collections and is impressed with our writers and artists, rating creative writing here as possibly the best in the country. But she insists she is not doing PR for MMU.
A former chair of the Poetry Society, Judith Palmer has recently edited a book Private Views: Artists Working Today, which features author John Mortimer and photographer Martin Parr, an MMU graduate. Her journalistic CV includes numerous radio appearances on Front Row, Radio 4.
Professor Margaret Harrison, who created the post, said: “It is a real coup that the Arts Council should fund this initiative. From Miriad’s point of view it opens doors into arts venues and gives us visibility.
“From the regional viewpoint, we hope Judith’s writings and contacts will raise a wider appreciation of the quality of art in this part of the world.”
