what people say about my work ...
Kate Morgan-Clare, Oriel Davies Gallery, Creative Producer >>>
"Working with Cathy on Artes Mundi 10 has been a huge pleasure. She brought energy, insight wisdom and humour to the project. Cathy drew on her extensive experience across the arts when working with the gallery to reach out to new audiences. Her championing of accessibility and attention to detail ensured that all the partners involved felt included and listened to. The result was a thoughtful and thoroughly planned public engagement programme with rich experiences and meaningful outcomes. Cathy is a brilliant connector! She has created a legacy that will benefit our community in future projects." (February 2024)
Louise Amery, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Deputy Director
"We commissioned Cathy to write an evaluation report for ‘Aberetwm’; a large scale site specific project to mark the Arts Centre’s 50th Anniversary. She delivered an excellent report, worked exactly within our required time-frame, understood the brief from the get-go, and far exceeded our expectations in terms of the quality, look and feel of the report. An absolute pleasure to work with!" (August 2023)
Henry Widdicombe, Director of Little Wander (Comedy festivals and tours) >>>
"The Festival started working with Cathy this year in order to improve all aspects of our accessibility. The strides we made almost immediately through Cathy's guidance have been wonderful. Cathy is well informed, flexible and understands the constraints that events are under whilst also wanting to continually improve. " (July 2023)
Eddie Ladd performer, TV presenter, movement director >>>
"I had the pleasure of working with Cathy on a project named Aberetwm in Aberystwyth this May. (...)It was a large-scale event, taking place over three days, staged on many locations within the town and involved theatre, music and installation. (...) I had a direct experience of her responsibility for access. She opened my eyes to the centrality of access to the form of an artistic work, rather than its being "a help" after it was made. She spoke up for it in the technical meetings I attended. This team was large, and had so many elements that access could have been by-passed. It is a testimony to her her skill and care that it was not.
She earned the respect of all involved in Aberetwm and I sincerely hope to work with her again. " (May 2023)
Cheryl Beer - environmental sound artist >>>
"Living with hearing loss, tinnitus & hyperacusis, a debilitating sound distortion, it can be very difficult for me to access events as an artist, but when Cathy was the Engagement and Access Producer on ABERETWM based at Aberystwyth University, I truly felt heard. She spent time with me building an individually tailored rider that would meet every aspect of my access requirements, making me aware of some I might have overlooked. She liaised with the creative team on my behalf and with finance, so that I only had to communicate through one person. This level of continuity made all the difference. I felt that I could trust Cathy and that she really understood my challenges. As a human being, she is warm, caring, friendly and person centred - this core of who she is shines through her work. The experience has been influential in how I now structure access riders for other events and for sure, when the opportunity arises, I will want to work with her again. " (May 2023)
Ruth Holdsworth - Head of producing for National Theatre Wales >>>
"Cathy took time and care to consider and support the access needs for NTW”s very complex project The Cost of Living, especially with regard to spending time with audiences who were deaf and disabled to encourage them to come to the shows, and to make them feel welcome and their needs cared for and thought through in advance so they felt safe and welcome. Cathy deeply understands the need to centre access from the very beginning of an idea and project and to keep audiences centred at all times in this thinking as things unfold." ( April 2023)
Ruth Fabby MBE,DL,CF, Patron Graeae LifeNow DaDaFest>>>
‘’I worked with Cathy on Galwad in September /October 2022. She was an absolute star in making those of us who needed access support, feel welcomed and that nothing we asked for was any trouble – as it should be. All too often we deal with lip service only. Cathy was astute and has an extensive understanding of disability issues, which made life so easy for me and others. I cannot recommend her positive and professional attitude enough and wish her every success in future endeavours.”
( November 2022)
Nicci Bailey Access & Inclusion Manager, GALWAD
"Cathy is a confident advocate for access and inclusion work spanning across all communities including but not limited to; disabled, global majority, queer, transgender, refugees and other underserved communities.
Cathy's knowledge and lived experience of disability adds true value to any team and I would work with her again in a heartbeat.
Her approach to access is ambitious and any project or organisation would benefit from having her on their team. " (October 2022)
Clare Williams Arts & Heritage consultant
Cathy combines a thorough knowledge of accessibility with pragmatism and empathy. (November 2022)
Sarah Smith from Sarona - Deaf led training and consultancy>>>
"I recently met and worked with Cathy for over 2 months on a large project, she was very knowledgeable and informative on the importance to ensure that full access is provided in the arts and theatre industry. She always strives her best to ensure that full access is given and she was brilliant in sourcing resources, making suggestions, and ensured that I was kept up to date with everything. An absolute Gem to find in this industry! Thank you so much for your support Cathy." (February 2023)