Katharine Markwick

I create and facilitate bespoke workshops and projects for schools, theatres and community organisations and  have led and collaborated on projects with organisations including Teach First, Nimble Fish, The Mono Box, A New Direction and Clowns Without Borders UK. 

I have designed everything from stand-alone creative writing and drama workshops, to physical theatre inspired practice-development for teachers, to long-term arts-led team projects; and I’ve worked in classrooms, conference rooms, Zoom rooms, community settings and refugee camps, to open playful spaces for people of all ages to connect, experiment, imagine, and create. 

Project Laughter, Romania - tour leader: led by Clowns Without Borders (UK & Sweden) in partnership with Plan International, this was first in a series of month-long tours responding to the war in Ukraine. Working in three cities across Romania, Project Laughter shared performances, play and laughter sessions with over 800 children and families who had fled the conflict. Adventures in Learning - artist facilitator: an arts based teacher-development programme delivered during the pandemic by Nimblefish in partnership with A New Direction, AIL took the form of a series of adventures, delivered by teachers through the post and followed up with online practice-development sessions and a celebration. Physical Approaches to Text - design & facilitation: a series of bespoke workshops designed to help Teach First English teachers capture the imaginations of pupils at some of the most challenging schools in the country.

Steve McQueen’s Year 3 - artist facilitator: a partnership between Tate, Artangel and A New Direction, Steve McQueen’s Year 3 delivered day-long interventions on the themes of identity, aspiration and community to 100 schools across London. Power of Play - project lead: a partnership between Mudem (Istanbul) and Clowns Without Borders UK, Power of Play was a series of online training sessions for psychologists, social workers and youth support workers based across Turkey. Sessions were designed to address challenges faced by participants as a result of moving their work with vulnerable children online during the pandemic; Careers In Theatre - artist lead: Half Moon Theatre’s flagship programme for young people across Tower Hamlets. Participants are invited to take on the challenge of creating, rehearsing and performing a play in a single day;

Fantastical Flying Machines - lead artist: created and delivered in collaboration with primary school staff as part of A New Direction’s My Creative School project, Fantastical Flying Machines was a week-long whole-school immersive mystery designed to inspire writing across the whole curriculum;