Mind the Gap Announces the Departure of Executive Director Julia Skelton MBE, and Artistic Director Joyce Nga Yu Lee

Today Mind the Gap, England’s premier learning disability performance and arts company, announces the forthcoming departure of two of its most influential leaders: Executive Director Julia Skelton MBE, and Artistic Director Joyce Nga Yu Lee. Their combined decades of dedicated service have left an indelible mark on the company and the broader learning disability and autism arts sector.

The departure of Julia and Joyce marks the culmination of an amicable succession plan that has been in development over the past few months, led by the senior management team and the Board.

Since joining Mind the Gap in 1997, Julia Skelton has played a key role in transforming the company from a small theatre group in Bradford into a globally recognized arts organization that advocates for inclusion and accessibility for people with learning disabilities and autism. Throughout her tenure, Julia has personified Mind the Gap’s mission to push boundaries, challenge perceptions, and empower people to realise their creative ambitions and goals.

Under her visionary leadership, Mind the Gap has not only grown into England’s largest learning disability theatre company but also emerged as a pioneering advocate for inclusion and diversity in the arts. Julia’s unwavering commitment to representing and celebrating learning disabled and autistic artists has firmly established Mind the Gap as a trailblazer in the sector, both within the UK and internationally.

Joyce Nga Yu Lee, who joined Mind the Gap in 2010, has been the driving force behind some of the company’s most iconic productions. Under Joyce’s artistic directorship, the company continues to surprise and awe audiences through ambitious and complex projects, often genre-defying and interdisciplinary. Her vision and passion have brought to life ground breaking works covering traditional theatre venues and the outdoors, such as Birdie,  Mia, Leave the Light on for Me, and ZARA, the company’s largest production to date. Joyce’s creative leadership has consistently pushed the boundaries of learning-disabled theatre, leaving a lasting impact on both the company and the wider arts community nationally and internationally.

Mind the Gap was founded in 1988 by Susan Brown and Tim Wheeler, with Tim serving as Artistic Director until 2014. When Julia Skelton joined as joint CEO in 1997, the company consisted of a freelance producer, a part-time finance administrator, and a core creative team of eight members from the Drama Club. Today, Mind the Gap provides supported employment for 13 artists with learning disabilities and/or autism and employs an additional 21 full and part-time staff, along with a dedicated network of freelancers.

One of Julia’s notable achievements is the development of MTG Studios, a £2.4 million project by Mind the Gap in the historic Lister Mills in Bradford. This purpose-built facility has not only provided essential and accessible spaces for the company, but also has significantly enhanced its artistic profile and capabilities.

Reflecting on her time at Mind the Gap, Julia remarked, “it’s truly been an honour and a privilege to work for such a brilliant company. There’s never been a dull day here – always so much to do to try and affect positive change within the arts sector and wider society. It might have been quite a slog to be honest, if I weren’t lucky enough to have worked with a succession of hugely talented, determined and fantastically creative colleagues. I will of course miss everyone enormously and expect to be regularly back on Mind the Gap’s doorstep as a friend and visitor. But I’m also excited for the future and the new opportunities and challenges it holds … whatever they may be!”.

Commenting on her departure, Joyce stated, “It has been an incredible journey—from arriving in the country 15 years ago (14 with MTG) as a working-class immigrant to becoming the Artistic Director of this pioneering organization. There has been blood, sweat, tears, a few wild rides (literally and metaphorically), and there are no regrets. I am deeply grateful for the love, talent, and empowerment I’ve experienced and witnessed within this company. My departure isn’t a goodbye; rather, it’s a transition to a new chapter. I believe we are all moving towards a shared vision of a world where everyone is valued and nurtured equally. I am excited for what lies ahead, both for myself and for MTG!”

Joyce will be pursuing her own projects in her usual ambitious, political, and mischievous ways, while consolidating knowledge on the aesthetics of inclusion through a part-time practice-based PhD at the University of Leeds, supported by a full scholarship.

Mind the Gap’s Co-Chair of Trustees, Lynne Carter, praised their contributions, saying, ” We’ll all miss Julia and Joyce enormously. They have both given so much to Mind the Gap, skillfully steering the company through the very choppy waters of the pandemic and funding cuts. Under their leadership, many, many people have been entertained and have had their eyes opened to what learning disabled and autistic people can achieve.

Mind the Gap’s board will be announcing a new leadership model for the company in the next few days.

Press Release available here.