The charity that runs the National Videogame Museum has appointed Sheffield arts innovator Cat Powell to lead its Visitor Experience team.
Cat brings a wealth of experience as Head of Artfelt, the arts programme which uses art to change the lives of thousands at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Under her leadership, Artfelt grew to become a multi-faceted project with national prominence. Passionate about new audiences, she’s deeply committed to Sheffield and its potential for the National Videogame Museum.
Working alongside BGI’s Creative Director, John O’Shea, Cat will lead a team of 17 staff and crew that delivers the Museum, which has just announced a major National Lottery Heritage Fund award to redesign its Visitor Experience.
Following the recent departure of CEO, Rick Gibson, Cat will join John in a co-CEO capacity and lead an interim period of exciting transformation.
Cat says “My work has always centred around access to the high quality art for underrepresented groups, especially those from my hometown of Sheffield. I’m delighted to join the NVM and develop their presence as a unique cultural offer in the city, working to strengthen links with its residents, and creating an exciting destination which provides access to games for all”.
Creative Director (and Interim co-CEO) John O’Shea said “Cat has hands-on experience of transforming the lives of children and young people in an inspirational charity in the heart of Sheffield. I’m excited to begin working with Cat at the National Videogame Museum, which has similar ambitious goals to transform people’s lives with videogames”.
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Notes to Editors
Interviews
If you would like to interview BGI trustees or staff, please contact Christian Beckett on christian(at)thebgi.uk
About the National Videogame Museum
The NVM celebrates videogame culture and allows the public to play most of its exhibits, which include nearly 100 games consoles, arcade machines and other interactive experiences, including games designed exclusively for the Museum.
The Museum holds one of the UK’s largest collections of nearly 5,000 videogame objects, including arcade machines, technology, game memorabilia and ephemera. Formerly the National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham, the Museum has welcomed over 200,000 visitors, including hundreds of school visits, since it opened in 2016.
The Museum presents a mixture of permanent and temporary exhibitions both in person and online. For more details about the NVM, please visit: http://www.thenvm.org.
A press pack including images and video of the NVM is available here.
About the BGI
The BGI is a national voice for videogame culture, heritage and education which empowers people from all backgrounds to:
- Play through accessible and creative experiences that engage and inspire
- Collaborate through inclusive communities, research, discussions and teamwork
- Learn through informal, formal and vocational learning
Our charity celebrates and interrogates games culture for everyone through the National Videogame Museum, our Collection, our research into games preservation and our festivals such as GameCity. We run award-winning formal and informal learning programmes such as Pixelheads in person and online for schools and families. We run vocational courses and the Games Education Summit and we co-founded and organise the Games Careers Week Festival for young people, their parents and educators.
For more details about the BGI’s mission and programmes, please visit: http://www.thebgi.uk/