Hi, I’m Maura, I am the Studio Co-Ordinator at the Manchester Studio. I joined Civic part time in March 2019, previously working as an Art & Design Lecturer.

The company ethos and values closely aligned with mine, especially creating spaces to help foster community and improve lives. I really like the creativity that is encouraged here, and I love seeing the engineers drawing and sketching…and how fussy people are about pens!

When I am not in work, I can mostly be found with my son, who as a preschooler, keeps me very busy! I have also taken up running and although it has been a challenge, I can now run 5K which feels a massive achievement for me.

I have chosen a place as my something special; James Turrell’s ‘Deer Shelter’ at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

It is an installation which reutilises an existing structure (originally a deer shelter…see what he did here) I love that it has given a new purpose to an existing building. The idea is that as you enter and spend time in the space you are forced to sit back and watch the world go by…literally through a hole in the ceiling! It gives a new perspective on something we see everyday and encourages contemplation.

A special moment I spent here was watching the sunrise on a very cold November morning when I was almost 8 months pregnant, somehow it seemed apt watching a new day rise with all its infinite possibilities whist I awaited a new arrival of my very own.