Cllr Margaret Walters, Trustee
Staff Governor (Academic), Middlesbrough College
Connect with Margaret: Email
Q&As
When did you join the Board of Tees Valley Arts?
May 2016.
What interests and excites you about Tees Valley Arts?
I’m looking forward to the chance to become involved in projects that can give individuals and groups in our community opportunities to explore their creativity through the arts. I’m also hoping to have some fun.
What do you love about Teesside?
I love the oddness of this area, its mobility and diversity. Our identity is always shifting: we’re a port, an industrial centre, we sell things, we’re a centre for media and design and we have attracted workers from all over the world.
When you were a child what did you want to be?
I wanted to perform – sing, dance, act, be funny and famous.
What is your earliest memory?
I remember sitting on the Turkish carpet in our dining room being perfectly happy tracing the pattern and looking at the very vibrant colours, then being scooped up to be changed and dressed.
What is your most treasured possession?
I don’t have one – the things I treasure are associated with people I love.
What is the worst job you’ve ever done?
When I was fifteen or sixteen I worked on the knicker counter in BHS and I hated the shop, the knickers, the customers, the till, the other girls (who were much more competent and sophisticated that I was) and the staff canteen.
What has been your biggest disappointment in life?
I haven’t had one – I’m very easily pleased.
Who is your favourite artist (any artform)?
It depends on the day – it could be Handel, J S Bach, Beethoven or it might be someone else.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Dump him…
Which living person do you most admire and why?
I am always impressed by Grayson Perry, by his work and his creativity, by his intellectual power, his level of analysis, his insights, his ability to communicate so effectively in so many ways and his willingness to confront and condemn what he perceives to be wrong and/or ugly.
If resources were no object, what project or activity would you most like to see Tees Valley Arts undertake?
I would like TVA to set up an art space with the resources to develop all of the skills essential to its working successfully. Everything would be included from scratch: from wiring plugs, repairing instruments, using a paintbrush and knocking in nails, to writing and staging newly written works of art or managing an exhibition. There would be opportunity for all artforms to be explored and worked with and all levels of potential would be accommodated and respected. The intention of the centre would be to send skilled, informed and cultured individuals from all walks of life out into the world of work with confidence in their own critical abilities and communication skills, and with the ability to make their contribution in whatever field of work they ended up in.