Nick Curwin to Retire From Indie Incubator Matisse
Nick Curwin is retiring from Matisse, the UK organisation that helps new TV production companies get off the ground.
Curwin will stay on until the end of the year. Co-founder Scarlett Ewens will then run Matisse on her own, Deadline reported on 1 October.
Ewens will continue to work with creative director Edwina Silver. The pair will keep advising existing and new clients on how to build their own indies, meaning independent production companies that make programmes for broadcasters and streamers.
Curwin has spent decades starting and selling those kinds of companies. He founded Firefly, now known as Dragonfly, and later founded The Garden. He then helped sell Dragonfly to the Shine Group and The Garden to ITV Studios.
Matisse is his third act. He set it up with Ewens seven years ago as an incubator, a company that backs first-time founders with business advice and contacts rather than cameras and edit suites.
It launched in spring 2019, Realscreen reported at the time. By January 2021 Curwin was chair, Ewens was chief executive and Silver was director of new business.
The client list since then includes Dan Grabiner’s Orchard Studios and James Longman’s Jolly Octopus. Jolly Octopus has signed an agreement with Matisse, according to the BBC Media Centre.
What makes this stand out is the quiet nature of the work. Matisse does not make shows itself. For producers trying to start up, this means the handover matters. One founder is leaving. The advice, and the team offering it, stays in place.
