Member of University Court
Janet was appointed to the role of Chief Executive for Edinburgh Printmakers in 2021. Prior to this, she was Director of Festival, Cultural and City Events; and Executive Producer for The New Real at the University of Edinburgh. While at the University, she produced an online series Edinburgh Culture Conversations for the University’s Futures Institute, bringing together 58 artists, academics, and cultural leaders to discuss how culture contributes to society during Covid-19.
Janet is the former Chief Executive of Creative Scotland, holding this role from 2013-2018. Over the course of her tenure, she worked with the Scottish Government to secure an additional £49.8m for the arts, screen, and creative industries; championing artists and creative learning, advocating for Scotland’s screen sector, setting out a new framework for mainstreaming equalities, diversity and inclusion and embedding a commitment to environmental sustainability.
Janet was Director, Dance, for Arts Council England from 2007-2013, working with the Arts Strategy team and 9 English regions on National Arts Policy. She led on producing State of the Arts: Artists Shaping the World, 2010 as well as publishing a major Dance Mapping study 2004-2008, still used today in research by scholars.
She was the Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Dance City, Newcastle from 1991-2007 where she raised £8m to build a new dance house for the city and region. Prior to that she developed Nexus Dance which toured nationally and internationally with support from Welwyn Hatfield Council (where she worked as Dance Animateur and then Arts Manager), Eastern Arts, and the British Council. She has built a strong international network through leading and developing international projects over the past thirty years and has been invited to speak in many countries including Argentina, Canada, and Finland as part of her various roles.
Janet has sat on Boards including Jumpers Dance Theatre (now National Dance Company Wales), balletLORENT, Phoenix Dance Theatre, ANDA, Association of National Dance Agencies and the Saltire Society. She is a graduate of Common Purpose 20:20 and a member of the Royal Society of Arts. She trained as a performer at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the Rambert Academy and London School of Contemporary Dance and won the Cosmopolitan Dancer of the Year in 1981. Her family background is from Allahabad, now Prayagraj, India, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, and Derby, England. She has been an enthusiastic collector of fine art prints over many years.
Janet is a lay member of the University Court, appointed on 1 October 2022.
Register of interests:
Business interests - Nil
Company directorships - Nil
Trusteeships - BalletLORENT.
Membership of organisations - Royal Society of Arts.
Other declarable interests - Nil
