CVAN East Midlands Director: Colette Griffin
Colette Griffin is a curator, artist developer, artist mentor, arts writer and access support worker based in Nottingham and working across the Midlands.
She is Director of both CVAN East Midlands (CVAN EM) and CVAN West Midlands (CVAN WM), part of the national CVAN network working collectively toward a more sustainable and inclusive visual arts sector. CVAN WM is hosted by DASH and CVAN EM by New Art Exchange (NAE).
In these roles, Colette advocates for contemporary visual arts across the Midlands by supporting artists, arts workers, and organisations through paid opportunities, critical programming, and partnership working. She fosters regional and cross-regional collaboration, focusing on participation, artist development, and long-term infrastructure building.
Previously, Colette was Artist Development Curator at Primary (2020–2024) and a director of New Midland Group, delivering an Arts Council England-funded development programme. From 2018–2020, she was Curator at Mansions of the Future in Lincoln. She has also worked with Nottingham City Museums and Galleries and Ikon Gallery.
Colette became a Trustee of NN Contemporary Art in 2024.
Colette was born in Northamptonshire, studied Fine Art at Loughborough University and was part of Nottingham Contemporary’s CAMPUS independent curatorial programme in 2019.