Team
Five creative people once had the good fortune to end up working together. With wide-ranging experience across multiple art forms – from theatre to the world of digital arts, literature to outdoor spectacle, visual arts to site-specific work, policy development and project management to strategic planning – we worked successfully as a team for Galway 2020 European Capital Culture. And the next step was obvious to us all. The desire to pool our collective expertise and channel our passion for creating and producing great cultural experiences led to the creation of Culture Works.
Meet the team
Matti Allam
Matti’s work focuses on project management, international partnership development and research for the arts and culture sector. With a passion for fostering cultural cooperation and supporting the exchange of cultural experiences, she has delivered projects in Ireland and the UK in collaboration with twenty countries throughout Europe such as Sweden, Poland, Italy, Croatia and France. She also has a strong interest in environmental sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint where possible. She is a member of The Capacity Building for European Capitals of Culture pool of multi-disciplinary experts. Matti previously managed projects at the Western Development Commission, Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture, Film London, Arts Council England and the University of Liverpool/Impacts 08.
Denise McDonagh
Denise has a professional background in visual art practices, film, animation and digital arts. Working as a creative producer and digital arts consultant with arts organisations and local authorities around Ireland, she has extensive experience in the areas of programming, producing, artistic development and policy. Her roles have included Creative Producer and Digital Arts Consultant – Mountains to Sea dlr Book Festival, Tipperary and Wicklow Arts Offices, Creative Digital Programme Manager – Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture, Producer – TULCA Festival of Visual Arts, and Producer – Galway Simon Virtual Sleepout. She also has a keen interest in creativity in education having delivered creative learning applications, conferences, workshops and courses for the Professional Development Services for Teachers (PDST). Denise has received a number of artist bursaries from the Arts Council in support of her work as a visual artist and won an IFTA for the live TV event Fleadh TV 2013.