Speakers

Polly Checkland Harding is an arts journalist and editorial consultant. She is currently Publications Coordinator for Factory International, the producers of extraordinary art from world-renowned figures to Manchester’s rising stars at Aviva Studios – and the team behind the biennial Manchester International Festival. Former Editor of award-winning online culture magazine Creative Tourist, Polly’s freelance clients include Art Fund, the Whitworth, The Lowry, UNBOXED 2022, and both Manchester Art Fair and The Manchester Contemporary. She also writes fiction: her first novel was shortlisted for the Northern Writers Award for Fiction 2019 and she has had short stories published in Cōnfingō and Lighthouse magazines. She was the winner of the Made in Manchester Award for Digital, Media or Creative Professional of the Year 2016.