Our mission at Monkfish Productions is to nurture artists through creative interventions in new and unusual spaces.  We work through the arts to collaborate with a wide range of communities, and to support individuals to unlock their creative potential.

Monkfish Productions has been in operation since 2007 as a CIC and more recently a charity (CIO).  Since then, we have created spoken word and multimedia performances and installation and, more recently, focused on combining a range of artforms to support artists and communities to reimagine existing physical spaces. During Monkfish’s lifespan, we’ve held a funeral for dead fictional characters, measured the heart rate and blood pressure levels of performers in real time, reclaimed a former Department of Work and Pensions office as a place of Xmas anarchy, eaten more than one banana in recreating Beckett’s masterpiece Krapp’s Last Tape, and composed a soundscape with the residents of a former pit village featuring a cameo appearance from a local bee colony. All these endeavours are just a smattering of all the wonderful things we have done and the people we have worked with – too many to mention here, sadly. We’ve co-made creative shenanigans with communities in Newcastle and Gateshead and have been inspired and moved by the resilience and ingenuity of all the communities and artists we have worked with. There are so many of you out there and we are in awe of what you do. A particularly proud moment for us was to have been part of Newcastle’s Holocaust Memorial Day Programme 2 years running with A Little Bit of Good in the World. And all of this, or much or it, would not be possible without all the funders, venues, and partners that we have worked with and been supported by along the way. Special thanks to Arts Council England, who have been an incredible support for much of Monkfish’s run.

But the only thing in life that is truly constant is change. And after 17 years, our Artistic Director Claire Murphy-Morgan is starting a new life chapter. She’s been the mainstay of Monkfish throughout and, to be frank, no Claire, no Monkfish.  So, it’s with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of Monkfish. There will be a final 1-hour online reflection on Thursday 28^th September at 6pm. If you would like to join us, please email us at monkfishproductions@hotmail.co.uk and we’ll email you the link. So long, farewell and thanks for all the (Monk)fish.

We're delighted to share our new Producing Place resource which will hopefully support creatives working in physical places and spaces.

Created by Producing Place Artist in Residence Erin McGrath, the work has been generated through consultation with artists and creative producers across the UK.

You can read more about it on our Blog Page.

Monkfish Annual Report 2020/21

#ALittleBitOfGood

A Little Bit of Good in The World is a new project exploring ways in which we can all stand together to do and share our own bits of good in the world where we work and where we live.

Like everyone else we are adjusting to the circumstances under CV-19, exploring our virtual world and thinking about what our 'new world' is going to look like as we emerge from lockdown.