Overview
Mike Pony is a Manchester based curator, creative producer and artist. He is known nationally for his work developing artist commissions, projects, festivals and events which collide performance, music, immersive arts, digital installation and public realm work. Mike is artistic and executive director of Submerge, and works as project manager and producer for IOU Creation Centre, as well as a freelance producer for Factory International. He formerly ran event brands Horseplay and Eat Sleep Drag Repeat.
Mike has a unique curatorial approach, creating opportunities for audiences to engage with cutting edge and experimental arts by presenting artists and artworks in accessible formats, immersive environments, and unusual locations. He is interested in working with artists to develop challenging artistic cross-disciplinary work at the boundaries of contemporary arts and performance.
Mike is an accredited personal and professional development coach trained by RD1st. He holds a Master of Philosophy (2010) in one-to-one performance from University of Bristol.
Submerge Festival
Mike was the Artistic Director and Producer of Submerge Festival, a biennial festival of international immersive arts from the edges, with editions in Bristol in 2016 and 2019, and Manchester in 2022.
The festival presented radical, boundary-pushing work that defied easy categorisation, bringing together live art and body-based performance, immersive theatre, sound, club culture, electronic music, audiovisual and digital arts. Its programme championed visceral, challenging work by diverse artists, with a particular commitment to creating opportunities for artists from underrepresented backgrounds. Submerge Festival was a resident organisation at Pervasive Media Studio, Watershed, Bristol.
Submerge – Creative Producing and Artist Development
Beyond the festival, Mike has developed Submerge into an independent producing organisation, working with artists and partners to develop ambitious cross-disciplinary projects, commissions and artist development opportunities. Today Submerge is the producing organisation behind many of Mike’s independent ventures.
A key strand of this work was CTRL (Creative Technology Research Labs), co-produced with The Lowry. The six-month programme brought together 14 Greater Manchester-based performance artists and six leading creative technology artists, providing opportunities to explore new approaches to performance, digital technology and interdisciplinary practice.
Freelance Producer – Factory International
Since 2022 Mike has taken a number of freelance producing contracts at Factory International, delivering projects such as KAGAMI (Tin Drum) and We Cut Through Dust (Blast Theory) at Manchester International Festival 2023 as well as producing an early research and development period with Marina Abramović for Balkan Erotic Epic.
More recently Mike managed puppet building events for The Herds for MIF25, and was creative producer of Those Who Hold Up The Sky, a major community co-creation project by BRiGHTBLACK.Working with 14 Greater Manchester residents to create the show, the project brought together digital art, game design and hands-on creative participation to imagine and build an alternative future Manchester. Mike has also produced events and projects for Brighter Sound, In Between Time and Bristol Pride.
IOU Creation Centre
Mike is currently Project Manager and Producer of IOU50, a major two-year programme celebrating five decades of pioneering experimental art and performance at IOU Creation Centre. Supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and other partners, the project explores IOU’s extraordinary artistic legacy while creating new opportunities for artists, audiences and future generations.
Mike leads the delivery of this ambitious, multi-strand programme, bringing together the development of a new physical and digital archive, oral history collection, artist commissions, public engagement and a major exhibition. Working with artists, researchers, heritage specialists and partner organisations, he is helping transform five decades of creative practice into a living resource that connects IOU’s past with its future.
The programme places particular emphasis on activating the archive as a source of inspiration for contemporary artists, encouraging new work at the intersection of art, performance, engineering and technology.
Commissioning
Mike has commissioned a range of works, including immersive audiovisual installation All Things Equal by Rebecca Smith Urban Projections and Loraine James, The Storm by Playmodes, and a new soundtrack by ILĀ (fka Anil Sebastian) for Cygnus by Loomaland. He is currently working on an R&D project for a new immersive work on air pollution and the climate emergency.
Horseplay
Mike was creative director and DJ at LGBT clubnight Horseplay, a queer-art-disco-club described by The Guardian as “Bristol’s best gay dance party”. Horseplay presented experimental performance in a club format from 2011 to 2018.
Horseplay
Eat Sleep Drag Repeat
Mike was director and CEO of Eat Sleep Drag Repeat from 2015 to 2022, presenting and touring artists from RuPaul’s Drag Race. ESDR presented high quality, conceptual guest performances from UK artists alongside drag race stars, creating opportunities for audiences to experience political and unconventional drag alongside more mainstream performance.
Eat Sleep Drag Repeat
Coaching
Mike is an accredited coach, trained by Relational Dynamics 1st, who provide coaching and leadership training for individuals and organisations working in the creative, cultural and non-profit sectors in the UK and with NGO’s internationally. The Relational Dynamics approach draws on theories and tools from a wide range of sources including coaching, emotional intelligence and contemporary research into leadership.
Get In Touch
Mike works in collaboration with producers, designers, artists, performers, festivals and venues to realise commissions, projects and events. He has worked as a producer for organisations such as Bristol Pride, In Between Time, Christmas Spiegeltent, Bristol Harbour Festival, Brighter Sound and Factory International. Get in touch!