The team behind the fair have over 20 yrs experience in the exhibitions industry organising events in the arts and culture and food & drink sectors. Managing Director Sophie Helm has advised multi-million pound Manchester property developments on their art collections, been invited to judge several leading art prizes, and curated Manchester Art Fair for over ten years.

Executive Chairman and founder, Thom Hetherington, has become one of the leading cultural figures in the region and was named ‘Cultural Icon’ in the Manchester Evening News City Life awards 2016. A trustee of Manchester Art Gallery, Thom also consults for arts organisations such as the Manchester International Festival, comments on arts and hospitality in the regional and national media, and has acted as a judge for awards such as the New Light Art Prize. 

Nat Pitt, founder of Division of Labour, continues as Curator of The Manchester Contemporary. He oversees the exhibitor roster, as well as advising on collector development and strategic partnerships, further strengthening TMC’s relationships with collectors, exhibitors and institutions in the UK and worldwide.

Nat Pitt trained as an artist at Falmouth School of Art in 1997 and gained his MFA from Wolverhampton University 2009 before becoming a fellow at De Appel in Amsterdam, ‘curating in the gallery field.’ Since 2013, Pitt has served as the Director for the gallery Division of Labour, a Salford based not-for-profit dedicated to supporting contemporary art across the UK. With research interests in regional art market development, art and education and collaborative practice, projects have included artists Robert Barry, Victor Burgin, Brian O’Doherty and Carey Young. Pitt has developed an international profile for his gallery, with past presentations in Venice, Brussels, Rotterdam, New York, Hong Kong, Basel, Vienna and Dallas. Most recently Pitt was the curator for A Modest Show the official collateral event for the Manchester leg of The British Art Show 9 Hayward Touring Exhibition.