Harriet Mitchell founded the curatorial and research initiative Gymnasium in 2008 as a way to umbrella the various strands of her independent practice. The Gymnasium programme is made up of multiple concurrent projects, including London Fields; a series of events focused on non-metropolitan arts practice; ongoing collaboration with YH485; a collective of artists and writers based in Great Yarmouth; and the development of The Happenstance Guide Book; a series of site-specific texts by artists. Mitchell is particularly interested in investigating notions of the local and discursive practice. Mitchell recently left Manchester, where she spent four years studying Contemporary Art History, to spend time in Berlin and London. Mitchell is now based in Hackney but continues to maintain strong ties with Manchester.