Gil Nicol

Members of the community were trained to be ‘plain speaking’ tour

guides, and with the support of Gil these community members then

delivered a series of short tours to parts of the exhibition for other

community members in Plymouth.

Gil trained as an artist and has over twenty-five years experience in

the arts. She has worked for numerous organisations including engage

(national association for gallery education), Ikon Gallery (Birmingham),

mac (midlands arts centre, Birmingham), Arts Council England, Creative

Partnerships (the Black Country), Tate Liverpool, Spike Print Studio and

Arnolfini in Bristol.

She spent four years with alias (artist-led initiatives advisory

service), working as a consultant to artist groups based in the South

West, and worked for nearly two years with ArtMatrix, offering

professional development advice for over 200 creative people in Bristol

and Wiltshire. She has written feasibility studies, business plans and

raised funds for a number of projects.

In 2009, she spent eight months at Tate St Ives on a work-based

Cultural Leadership programme working on audience development, and more

recently was Head of Interaction at Arnolfini. Since April 2011 she has

run her own agency – lightsgoingon – making contemporary art accessible

through training, courses and workshops. She is currently heading up an

Arts Council funded programme working with ten cultural organisations

across the South West, West and East Midlands, looking at the quality of

experience for the casual visitor to contemporary art galleries.

She has an MA in Fine Art Printmaking (Distinction) from University

of Brighton (1985-88) and an MA in Feminism and Visual Arts from

University of Leeds (1996-98).

Gill is a passionate communicator and a confident trainer, with a

focus on mentoring artists and creative businesses. She approaches life

with enthusiasm, energy and confidence, yet underpinned by a commitment

to research, evaluation and analysis.

Contact: gill@lightsgoingon.com