About
Katherine is a multi award-winning Creative Director and Digital Consultant, with more than 15 years’ experience of bringing adventurous ideas to life.
She has designed experiences for clients including Twitter, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the BBC; Worked in Digital Leadership roles within a number of arts organisations including Battersea Arts Centre (Digital Producer), National Theatre Wales (Digital Associate), Watershed (Producer), Manchester International Festival (Digital Director) where she drove culture change around technology adoption and innovation; She has worked in Freelance Curatorial and Producing roles for Théâtre Du Châtelet, Paris (Associé Numérique), Louvre Abu Dhabi (Associé Numérique), Royal Opera House (R&D Producer for the worlds first Hyper Reality Opera).
She has a specialism in Livestreaming and its innovative application in the arts sector, writing her MA thesis on this subject when the field was first emerging and then much more recently designing the Digital offer for Coventry City of Culture’s Opening Ceremony Coventry Moves (BBC & Online), the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Faith (Online) and Galwad for Sky TV & Online distribution.
As a creative collaborator she has produced projects with artists including Mary-Anne Hobbs, Morag Myerscough, Jeremy Deller, Bugzy Malone and New Order.
She is currently freelance and working as Creative Director for Bristol Light Festival, Senior Associate at The Space and Digital Associate at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Katherine in based in Bristol but working with partners around the globe.
This website has selection of some of her favourite projects; for a more comprehensive CV please head to LinkedIn, or Say Hello.
Curator / Creative Lead
#twitterLive
#TwitterLive | . April 2016
Instead of creating their usual yearly roadshow, Twitter decided to build an experience for their clients which celebrated the uniqueness of the platform and demonstrated the creativity and passions at the heart of their world.
I worked with the team at Strong & Co and Twitter UK to curate a series of installations that showcased cutting edge artists who use Twitter, Periscope and Vine within their practice; from mind controlled beer pouring robots, to 360° interactive globes showcasing live twitter activity, to cuddly robot monsters who live off hugs and tweets, we had it all.
Curator / Creative Lead
- CLICK HERE to take a look at some of the UK's top Viners on @joinniche who attended #TwitterLive to explore and create vines inspired by the space.
- Watch a behind the scenes on Campaign Live
“This is everything the future could be
- and I love it”
Creative director
Bristol Light Festival
Bristol City Centre BID & Partners
Bristol light festival
Creative Director
Bristol Light Festival fills the city with light and colour, showcasing Bristol as the vibrant, playful and creative city that we know and love.
Each edition of Bristol Light Festival feature world premier works alongside some of the best of the worlds leading light artists, with new creations making their Bristol debut at carefully selected locations across the city centre. We have been delighted to feature world renowned artists such as Morag Myerscough, Studio McGuire, Marcus Lyall, Squidsoup, Kathy Hinde, Cathy Mager, Designs in Air, Illumaphonium, Inkie, Olivier Ratsi, Joanie Lamercier, Dr Tine Bech and many more.
Bristol Light Festival appears along some of the city centre’s well-trodden paths as well as in some unexpected locations. At each spot visitors will be able to see, experience and play with installations that are visiting the South West for the first time.
Over the past four years, Bristol Light festival has grown in ambition and scope with our 2023 festival being the largest yet- attracting over 250,000 people to the city over 10 days.
Katherine has worked as Creative Director for Bristol Light Festival since its first edition in 2020. Visit the Bristol Light Festival website for more information.
Bristol Light Festival is presented by Bristol City Centre Business Improvement District (BID) supported by Redcliffe & Temple BID and Broadmead BID. The festival is also supported by Cabot Circus, Bristol’s City Centre & High Streets Recovery and Renewal programme, which is funded by Bristol City Council and the West of England’s Combined Authority’s Love our High Streets project, with the aim of supporting the recovery of Bristol’s priority high streets. The festival is curated by Creative Director Katherine Jewkes.
associé numérique
Singing Trees
Théâtre du Châtelet, Louvre Abu Dhabi & Bloomberg Philanthropies
Singing Trees
Théâtre du Châtelet, Louvre Abu Dhabi & Bloomberg Philanthropies
“With climate change now a part of our everyday lives, this installation physically manifests, with pioneering technology, the urgent need to listen to what nature is telling us and respond with care.”
The Louvre Abu Dhabi and France’s Théâtre du Châtelet will launch the world premiere of Singing Trees – an interactive installation that activates the outdoor landscape surrounding the Louvre Abu Dhabi – created by UK digital artists Umbrellium in collaboration with Paris’ Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) and independent producer, Katherine Jewkes.
Aimed at raising awareness for the environment, non-invasive electronic belts have been attached to the palm trees around The Louvre Abu Dhabi’s entrance, which will give the trees a voice, enabling them to sing together as choir.
As visitors move closer to the trees, the “song of the choir” grows louder and more synchronised, with the maximum volume reached when visitors hug the trees. The trees receive live environmental data on the pollution levels of each city they visit- when the pollution levels are higher, the trees become breathless and hoarse as they sing, they can grow stronger in voice as humans approach and hold the trees.
The installation, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, will be on view at the Louvre Abu Dhabi between 25 February and 7 March 2020. Following its Abu Dhabi premiere, the installation will be presented in cities around the world including in the garden of Paris’ Palais Royal on 10-20 September, 2020.
Read what the press say about Singing Trees Abu Dhabi - The National News, Middle East Online, Gulf News
Read what the press say about Singing Trees Paris - Bloomberg, Manifeste2020
Singing Trees was commissioned by the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Théâtre du Châtelet with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Technical Design Umbrellium Sound Design Ircam Amplify
based on an idea by Marc Dondey and Ruth Mackenzie
Produced by Katherine Jewkes
The trees are currently singing: Songs Legs Logs by Pierre Senges and Pierre-Yves Macé (French Language), All is full of love by Björk (English Language), Noces à Grenelle by Abd Al Malik (French language), Traditional song L’Ayyala (Arabic Language) with thanks to the composers for their support.
Producer / Creative Lead
The Rooms
The Rooms
From a playground filled with dancing Elvis' and fabulous beasts, to an interactive light garden, haunted study and enchanted library, The Rooms was a Playground for New Ideas staged in a series of unusual venues in Bristol City Centre.
For three days in November, The Rooms was a Playground for new ideas. Alongside a series of installations showing 53 projects, there was an exciting programme of free talks, workshops, film screenings and house parties.
The Rooms was supported by Arts Council England and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The Rooms was produced by REACT, who are funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Producer / Creative LEad
- We were thrilled that over 6,000 people attended the festival across three days, with queues around the block for two days.
- Read about The Rooms in Wired
- See what Cool Hunting thought of the Festival
“The Rooms turned formerly staid institutions into playful, imaginative spaces”
Digital Producer
Cov Moves
Coventry City of Culture - Opening Ceremony
Cov Moves
coventry city of culture
Directed by Justine Themen, Made with the people of Coventry.
A city-wide celebration, Coventry Moves was the first major moment of Coventrys year as UK City of Culture on Saturday 5 June. Cov Moves was a playful and engaging introduction to Coventry, its stories, and its people, online, on the radio and on your timeline.
The day-long celebration told the story of Coventry’s pioneering identity and how it continues to shape its future and give voice to the many people that call the city their home.
Cov Moves was staged during lockdown, so Katherine was brought in to support the creative team in imagining the Opening Festival as an online offer. A mix of Livestreams- filmed across the city - and prerecorded documentary shorts were delivered across social media and to the BBC using pioneering 5G technology. Designed with a strong accessibility offer at its heart - with all content made available fully Subtitled, Audio Described and BSL interpreted; with an accessible microsite built to help audiences navigate the online offer throughout the day.
A playlist of the show is available on youtube, Audio Descibed playlist, BSL interpreted playlist.
Digital LEad, Manchester International Festival
What is the City But the People?
What is the city But the people?
This year’s Manchester International Festival opened with an invitation – come to Piccadilly Gardens and join friends, neighbours and total strangers for this self-portrait of the city.
Raised high above the pavements, a unique selection of individuals from across Manchester walked along a runway stretching more than 100 metres through Piccadilly Gardens.
All eyes were on the people of Manchester as they become the opening event of the Festival.
With live music from Graham Massey assisted by an unexpected mix of local musicians, What Is the City but the People? captured and celebrated Manchester as never before.
Katherine designed and produced the digital elements of the production, including livestreaming to Facebook and the BBC, with live wrap around content; video screens within the performance with specially commissioned portraits and text and social media strategy around the project.
(Interim) Digital Lead for Manchester International Festival
- Read about the Project on MIF's Website
- Watch the Live Broadcast on the BBC
- Watch the Livestream on Facebook
“A catwalk show with real people instead of models - and it was beautiful”
Digital Associate, National theatre Wales
The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning
The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning
Bradley Manning is the 25-year old US soldier accused of releasing 250,000 secret embassy cables and military logs from the Iraq and Afghan wars. After more than three years in prison without charge, Manning is now awaiting his sentence, having been found guilty of crimes that could mean life in prison. But just a few years ago, he was a teenager in west Wales. How did this happen? And who is responsible for his radicalisation?
In August 2013, National Theatre Wales took their critically-acclaimed show The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and Katherine worked on redesigning the livestream of the production to improve the experience for the digital viewers.
Digital Associate for National THeatre Wales
Over 6,500 audience members watched the Bradley Manning live stream from 1,269 cities in 103 countries. 56% of the audience were based in the UK, while other considerable audience bases could be found the US, Germany, Japan, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands and Australia.
When watching the real time stats, we could see that there was an audience member in Portland (US) watching at the same time as someone in Port Talbot (Wales).
20% of the audience watched on mobile or tablet devices, on a variety of over 60 devices
“The cutting edge of theatre”
Digital Associate, National theatre Wales
Branches: the nature of crisis
Branches: The nature of Crisis
In September 2012, Argentinian choreographer Constanza Macras explored the influences of nature in a forest in North Wales. In here first UK commission, she worked with a group of Welsh and Wales-based performers, alongside members of her own company DorkyPark. Combining text, storytelling, live music and movement, Branches: The Nature of Crisis took the audience on a surreal walk through the woods of Wepre Park, Flintshire, entwining the stories of the Mabinogion and visions of the hen parties of Cardiff City Centre.
Digital Associate for National THeatre Wales
As part of my role at National Theatre Wales, I worked to produce the digital elements of this Production, which included a multi-camera, multi-site livestream from a busy high street in Cardiff and a Forest in Flintshire to the Web, Smart TV and a billboard in Cardiff City Centre. There was also an interactive message function between online audiences and people on the high street in Cardiff and the performers in a forest in Flintshire. We worked in collaboration with BBC Cymru and The Space.
“A technical masterpiece... my walks through the trees will never be the same again”
Digital Associate, National theatre Wales
Karen
Karen
NTW worked with digital performance pioneers Blast Theory to develop a new theatre production on your phone: an app that mixes gaming and storytelling.
Karen is a life coach and she’s happy to help you work through a few things in your life. When you begin, she asks you some questions about your outlook on the world to get an understanding of you.
As the story unfolds and she gets to know you, she gets more and more curious. She seems to know things about you that she shouldn’t. Where is this going to end?
Blast Theory makes interactive artworks that invite you to question your place in society. Renowned internationally as one of the most adventurous artists’ groups creating groundbreaking new forms of performance and interactive art that mixes audiences across the internet, live performance and digital broadcasting. Led by Matt Adams, Ju Row Farr and Nick Tandavanti, the group’s work explores the social and political aspects of technology. Drawing on popular culture and games, the work often blurs the boundaries between the real and the fictional.
Karen is a new work by Blast Theory, developed in partnership with National Theatre Wales, and co-commissioned by The Space and 539 Kickstarter backers. Karen has been developed with support from the Mixed Reality Lab at the University of Nottingham, and in collaboration with Dr Kelly Page.
Karen is still available to play:
- Download for IOS here
- Download for Android here
Find out more about Karen on Blast Theory's Website
Digital Associate for National THeatre Wales
Awards
Nam June Paik Art Center Prize, South Korea, Winner, 2016
Data Category, Best of British Digital, British Interactive Media Association, Winner, 2015
Innovation Award, Festival du nouveau cinéma, Winner, 2015
The People’s Lovie Awards, Experimental & Innovation, The Lovie Awards, Bronze Winner, 2015
Digital LEad, Manchester International Festival
togather
Togather
ToGather is a major new exhibition and performance by artist Susan Hefuna that was presented at the Whitworth (30 June – 3 September 2017) as part of Manchester International Festival.
Susan worked with 30 local residents, all of whom are from refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds and have made Manchester their home. Since November 2016, the project brought together men and women of all ages, originally from countries including Iran, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Trinidad, Cameroon, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Kuwait. The group shared their life stories, memories, thoughts and experiences: through discussions; through symbolic and important personal objects that Susan invited them to share with the group; and through the movements they developed together.
(Interim) Digital Lead for Manchester International Festival
ToGather included a free public performance on Sunday 9 July. The performance saw members of the group trace individual paths through Whitworth Park, joined by dancers from Studio Wayne McGregor and accompanied by a new score by Scanner.
Alongside the exhibition and performance, MIF commissioned International Magic to work with Susan to created a new digital experience inspired by Susan’s own drawings. On the day of the performance, the team used motion capture to record the choreography and transmited the data to the gallery and website in real time to create a unique digital moving image of the dancers’ footsteps within the park, echoing and tracing their movement.
Susan Hefuna’s timely, poetic work addresses some of the most potent issues of our time: migration, movement and sensations of togetherness. Its multiple parts combine into a hugely moving whole, a work of great significance and power on this most urgent of subjects.
Senior transmedia Producer
galwad
Sky Arts
GALWAD
SKY ARTS x Collective Cymru
A STORY TOLD IN REAL-TIME
OVER SEVEN DAYS
ONLINE, ON TV, LIVE FROM WALES
GALWAD was a story for our times. Unfolding on social media channels in real-time over seven days in autumn 2022, and broadcast live on Sky Arts on Sunday 2nd October, it asked what if the future made contact with us in the present.
GALWAD was rooted in the people and places of contemporary Wales, with the future story-world of 2052 imagined by hundreds of people in response to the social, economic and cultural consequences that could result from a 1.8 degree rise in global temperatures.
Conceived as a new kind of tri-lingual, real-time storytelling, GALWAD broke new ground in distributing the characters and plot of the story across over a hundred pieces of content; immersing the viewer in the action through single-shot cinematography; threading BSL, Welsh and English through the script and performances and working across theatre, film and TV sectors to deliver the ambitious creative vision live from Wales.
As Senior Transmedia Producer, Katherine led on the delivery of the live and online content distribution, as well as the livestream production which took place all over Wales from Beaches to Mountainsides for audiences online, on TV and across Wales.
To find out more or experience the archive of Galwad online please visit GALWAD.CYMRU
Digital Associate, National theatre Wales
Playable CIty : Recife
Playable City - Recife
Recife: The Playable City was an exciting international initiative that brought together creative practitioners from Pernambuco (Brazil) and the UK, to exchange ideas and develop new works that respond to the theme of The Playable City. It was produced by Watershed and run in collaboration with Brazilian Technology Park Porto Digital and the British Council.
As part of the programme, Katherine worked with Leo Falcão, Rosie Poebright, Phill Tew and Daniel da Hora to produce the Woman in the Wall, which took the form of a guided theatre experience, in which audiences ‘walked in the skin’ of a woman, who was allegedly bricked into a wall by her father for falling pregnant out of wedlock. Featuring performance, phone messages, physical clues and more, this theatrical tour of Recife’s Rua do Apolo, was a truly enchanting experience, provoking participants to consider Recife's past, present and future.
- Read Katherine's blog about making The Woman in the Wall
- Read a Wired article about the programme
- Read how the programme was named one of 10 global r&d projects that are changing Arts and Culture.
Digital Associate for National THeatre Wales / participant
“THE WHISPERINGS OF A WOMAN BRICKED IN BY HER FAMILY 150 YEARS AGO, A BUS STOP THAT DELIVERS UPLIFTING ONE-LINERS AND A PAIR OF HANDS THAT LIKE TO PLAY MUSIC WHEN TOUCHED. THESE ARE THREE OF THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE COME OUT OF THE RECIFE: THE PLAYABLE CITY PROGRAMME, A CROSS-CONTINENT COLLABORATION BETWEEN UK AND BRAZILIAN DIGITAL ARTISTS.”
Digital Consultant, Manchester International Festival
Bonobo Presents Outlier
WHP X MIF Special Edition
Bonobo Presents Outlier
WHP X MIF Special Edition
As part of Special Edition, Bonobo brings his international Outlier series to Manchester. Previously presented in London and New York, Outlier has seen Bonobo harness his talents as a curator and arbiter of club culture, as well as demonstrating his instinctive relationship with music.
Bonobo will DJ alongside musical purveyor and tastemaker of worldwide sounds Gilles Peterson. Having featured Bonobo on his recent All That Must Be album, George Fitzgerald (live) joins the line-up plus the amazingly engaging Palms Trax and Rinse FM’s Josey Rebelle.
A collaboration between Manchester International Festival and The Warehouse Project , curated with BBC Radio 6 Music’s Mary Anne Hobbs, Special Edition is a series of unique nights in Manchester’s immense and atmospheric Mayfield, a former railway station in Manchester, with lighting designer Stuart Bailes. With support from Sollinger Laser Animations.
Special Edition is part of a series of pre-Factory events, paving the way for the opening of The Factory, a new major arts space being developed in the heart of the city that will be operated by MIF.
Photos @hirobjones & @nu_viz