A MAN with years of experience in arts and cinema has been announced as the chairman of Tynedale's premier arts centre.

Queen's Hall Arts Centre, in Hexham, has revealed Jonny Tull has been appointed in the chief role.

Mr Tull is a cinema and arts consultant and works with arts venues and cinemas to develop their businesses, programming and audiences.

He currently also leads the Filmhouse Sunderland project, and has recently worked with clients including Warwick Arts Centre, Square Chapel Arts Centre in Halifax and Jam Jar Cinema, Whitley Bay.

He is also an advisor on the British Film Institute’s Film Audience Network’s Advice & Experience scheme and teaches on the Film Studies course at Newcastle University.

Mr Tull embarked on a freelance career after working at Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema for 22 years, where he held senior management roles in marketing and programming.

He is now working with a range of cultural organisations across the UK to support their businesses and also provides film distribution support for filmmakers.

Recently, he has released films Home, Climbing Blind, Push and Prisoners of the Moon into UK cinemas.

He said: ""I’m delighted to move into the role of chairman of the board of trustees at Queen’s Hall Arts.

"I’ve been a board member at Queen's Hall since 2016, and have worked in the region’s arts and culture scene for 25 years so I have seen first hand the great work that the organisation does.

"Right now, we all face a difficult period and there’ll be many changes to daily life for a little while, but the team here are already planning how we will return once its safe to do so."