I’m a cross-platform artist, facilitator and illustrator with a background in applied theatre and visual art. My socially engaged practice explores themes of place, class, and queerness. While I’ve had a successful career in theatre I’ve recently shifted to focus on illustration. I’m receiving significant interest as a visual artist using my experience in participatory practice to leverage commissions. I’m now ready to make a step-change in my career, moving away from co-created art and theatre and developing my practice as a contemporary visual artist and illustrator.
The Dover Prize would provide the opportunity to focus on independent, contemporary visual artwork and illustration. I plan to spend this time developing a new, ambitious exhibition consolidating my experience in visual art and storytelling, rooted in Darlington, with a particular focus on LGBTQIA+ and working-class communities. Through community consultations and recorded conversations, I’ll create a large, contemporary illustrated map of Darlington, highlighting places of meaning to local queer and working-class people. As well as the usual streets and landmarks, the map will include portraits of real people, and reflect the lived experience and community memory of these marginalised groups.
Accompanying this, I’ll produce a recorded sound collage of stories that explore
intersections of class and queerness; the industrial past, the precarious present, and hopes for the future.
I will also use the budget to:
– Engage a high-profile mentor to guide me through this period of development
– Seek agent/gallery representation, using the Dover Prize as a calling card
– Secure studio space, giving me the space to experiment, take risks and ultimately create my most ambitious work to date.
– Access national training opportunities including The Good Ship Illustration Business Course and at least one artist retreat to focus on my practice.
By the end of the programme I will have has an unprecedented opportunity for professional development, high-quality professional mentoring and most importantly, the space and time to focus on my craft and artistic ambitions. This will allow me to make the transition from participatory artist to professional, contemporary artist with national visibility and profile.
My work is rooted in place and community. I create illustrated maps and portraits that are deeply connected to local people, stories, and culture, with an unapologetically working-class and queer aesthetic. I am highly experienced in participatory practice and in engaging communities, with a robust, wide-reaching network across Teesside and the wider North of England—connections I will leverage to increase the reach and impact of this project.
While this project supports my shift away from co-created art, community remains central. I will engage widely with Darlington residents during the research and development of what will be my most ambitious work to date. This work will be specifically centred on the vibrant and underserved LGBTQIA+, working class communities of Darlington.
Crucially, I see this project as a catalyst not only for elevating my own national profile, but also for building the national profile of Darlington as a place where working-class and LGBTQIA+ voices are visible, valued, and celebrated. Through this work, I want to challenge dominant narratives about who art is for and where it comes from. I will use this dedicated time to connect with galleries, agents, and publishers across the UK—positioning both my practice and Darlington on the national stage as a site of bold, community-rooted creativity that unapologetically centres queer and working-class perspectives.
’m a multidisciplinary, socially engaged artist. My work explores themes connected to LGBTIA+ issues, social class and place. I aim to create contemporary, intimate work that is experimental in form and unpretentious in voice. I studied art and design and then applied theatre at degree level and throughout my career I’ve collaborated with a broad range of organisations including The National Theatre, Northern Stage, Live Theatre, Seven Stories, the National Centre for children’s Books, Northumbria University and Newcastle University.
My early career focussed on applied arts in the community and these facilitation and engagement skills underpin all aspects of my practice today. In theatre I’ve created and directed work that has toured nationally and internationally, received multiple five-star reviews from national press and won awards such as the North East Culture Arts Council Award (Fat Chance, written by Rach Stockdale 2024) Throughout my career I’ve continued my visual art and illustration work and in recent years I’ve come to focus on this, rather than theatre. I’ve received multiple commissions over the last few years from organisations such as Glow Newcastle Education Partnership, Rural Arts and Rotherham Children’s Capital of Culture.
In visual arts I’ve been focussing on maps and illustrated portraits. Using applied drama techniques to engage and facilitate conversations with communities and then translate the findings from these conversations into visual art. So far, most of these commissions involved collaborating with community members on the final artwork. While this is rewarding and very meaningful for the participants, this does compromise the quality of the final artworks, I’m looking for the opportunity to work with communities to inspire my work and then complete the final artworks myself, pushing my artistic abilities and developing my visual art outside of co-creation settings.
I studied applied drama at Northumbria University.
I’ve received various Project Grants from Arts Council England. Notably my current project, Up on a Star which explores adoption, working towards a co-created exhibition with adopted young people and children and a professional play for family audiences using space as a metaphor for adoption. This project is supported by ACE, Theatre Hullabaloo, Alphabetti Theatre and Arc Adoption North East.
I’ve worked as lead artist on several Arts Council funded projects with budgets ranging from 15K to 55K, I’m experienced in all aspects of fund-raising, project-management, administration and engagement as well as successfully carrying out the artistic aims of complex creative projects.
I’ve received commissions in visual arts from
Rural Arts, Thirsk – ‘We Are Here’ 2024
Creating a map of memories in Thirsk with an intergenerational group. The map featured illustrations of memories told by participants, each illustration was accompanied by a story written by the participant. Current on exhibit at The Old Courthouse, Thirsk and due to tour local venues throughout 2025/26
Glow, Newcastle Cultural Education Partnership. Listen Up, Speak Out, Pass the Mic, 2024
An illustrated story for film, co-created with children at Hawthorn Primary School, Newcastle upon Tyne. The film has been exhibited at Tyneside Cinema and Theatre Royal Newcastle.
Rotherham Children’s Capital of Culture – Roots Parade large scale banner
Co-creating a banner in response to the theme ‘We Are Here’ with a group of hard to reach teenagers in Rotherham. The banner is due to be displayed in Clifton Park Museum later this year.
As you can see, there is significant support for my work, however I haven’t yet had the opportunity to focus on my work as an independent artist without relying on co-creation as a means of securing commissions. I need support to make this step-change in my career.
Only in theatre (The Guardian, The Stage etc) but not in visual art.
The National Theatre’s Step Change Programme (2017)
Clore Emerging Leaders Programme (2016)
Email: jon-luke-mckie@hotmail.co.uk
Address: 1 William Street West, NORTH SHIELDS, North Tyneside, NE29 6RL, GB
Local Authority: North Tyneside
