BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Robert Palmer (Chair)
Currently Director of Culture and Cultural and National Heritage at the Council of Europe, Robert Palmer brings to Visiting Arts extensive experience in the cultural sector. He has been heavily involved in European Capitals of Culture and is the only person to have been the Director of two - Glasgow (1990) and Brussels (2000). He has great experience as a Board member of various arts institutions and international festivals and regularly speaks at international cultural conferences and workshops.
Ajay Chhabra
Ajay is a director and actor whose work has been described as cross art-form and multi-disciplinary. He is co-director of production company Nutkhut ("mischievous"), which he formed with his partner, dancer and choreographer Simmy Gupta. Ajay is Artistic Director of the London Mela. As an actor, he plays a regular character in The Basil Brush Show and in The Archers. Recently he has produced a series for BBC School Radio, Come to Kochi , presented from Kerala, India. Ajay has just finished performing in the Alan Bennett play Kafka's Dick at the Derby Playhouse.
www.nutkhut.net
Romesh Gunesekera
Romesh is the author of four highly acclaimed novels - The Match published in paperback this year, Heaven's Edge, The Sandglass , and Reef (shortlisted for the 1994 Booker Prize and the Guardian Fiction Prize) - and of Monkfish Moon , a collection of short stories. His literary awards include the BBC's inaugural Asia Award for Writing & Literature and a Yorkshire Post Book Award. His writing is widely anthologized and published in more than ten languages. Romesh has been a judge for the David Cohen Prize for British Literature, the Caine Prize for African Writing and the Amnesty Media Awards, and a guest Director at the Cheltenham Festival of Literature. He has also worked for the British Council. Currently he is on the Council of the Arvon Foundation. In 2005 he received a National Honour for his writing from Sri Lanka, and the year before was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in London.
www.romeshgunesekera.com
Shivaji Shiva
Shivaji s pecialises in charity law, acting for sponsors of new charities as well as the trustees and staff of existing charities and other not-for-profit bodies. He leads a team of lawyers dedicated to advising charities and other not-for profit organisations. He joined Michelmores in January 2008 from Russell-Cooke LLP, where he was a partner. Prior to that he worked as in-house legal adviser to an overseas development charity and as a legal consultant to organisations involved in fair trade and campaigning for free speech. He is a committee member, and former secretary, of the Charity Law Association, Honorary Consulting Solicitor to CTC – the UK’s national cyclists’ organisation and regularly lectures and writes on changes in the law relevant to charities.
Ann Harrison
Ann qualified as a solicitor in 1983 and was a commercial litigation lawyer until 1988 when she switched to work in entertainment law, specialising in music. She worked for a large firm in the West End of London, becoming a partner there in 1991, and head of the music group in 2001 before setting up as a legal consultant when Harrisons opened for business in May 2003. She has always preferred working for the creative/entrepreneurial side of the industry and Harrisons has given her the opportunity to do this on her own terms. Over the past 25 years Ann has represented high-profile artists and writers, record labels, managers, independent publishers as well as giving legal advice to executives on their employment contracts and advising clients on joint ventures. Her expertise extends to video games, mobile ring-tones, the use of music on the Internet, copyright and trade mark law. Increasingly Harrsions has been asked to act as consultants on larger scale projects. She is an advisor to the Welsh Assembly on the creative sector with the aim of establishing a viable commercial music industry in Wales. She is a member of the Steering Group for Bath Spa University's Commercial Music degree course, is an external examiner on the music courses at Bucks New University, and is a regular lecturer on music business and law. She is also the author of 'Music: The Business' now in its fourth edition.
Nero Ughwujabo
Nero has a mixed background having worked in the Arts, private and voluntary sectors. He is currently the Chief Executive of Croydon BME Forum, a specialist local infrastructure organisation and the umbrella organisation for Croydon’s BME Organisations. He is also a Director with Olde Oak Ltd – Consultancy for Management. Nero has a first degree in Film and Drama, specialising in Third Cinema; and recently completed his Masters in Business Administration (MBA).
His co-established and was Technical Director of Asylum Theatre, a touring Theatre Company which managed a venue at the Edinburgh Festival 3 years running. He specialised in stage management, Lighting and Sound. He has also written, produced and directed four short films.
Nero now works within the social policy and not-for-profit arena; working across both the development and implementation of policies at local and national levels. His work centres on enabling organisations and communities to engage more meaningfully in the wider policy and political arena, with particular reference to Regeneration, Neighbourhood Renewal; and Local Strategic Partnerships.
Nero is a member of the Croydon Strategic Partnership’s Chief Executives Group and an Executive member of the Stronger Communities Partnership in Croydon. He Chaired the London Sub-regional ChangeUp BME Infrastructure Project and is a board member at Servite Thames Housing Association, Croydon Business Venture, a Non-Executive Director of Mayday NHS Trust and was also a Trustee at the National Association of Voluntary and Community Associations.
Guto Harri
Formerly the BBC’s political correspondent in Washington, Guto is now Director of Communications for the Mayor of London.
Sue Cambridge
Sue is currently Director of Finance at Tate. Her previous roles have included Financial Controller/Partner at BBC News and a variety of other roles at the BBC, HSBC, Dartington & Co. and Arthur Andersen & Co.
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Staff
Director's Unit
Yvette Vaughan Jones
Executive Director
Andy Kyriakides
Office and Web Manager
Will White
Head of Communications and Development
Christoph Jankowski
European Information Officer
Sarah Wayne
PA to Executive Director
Cultural Operations
Sabrina Smith-Noble
Arts Manager (Performing Arts)
Kathryn Standing
Arts Manager (Visual Arts)
Sioned Hughes
Arts Manager (Professional Development)
Adam J Knights
Arts Projects Manager
Sholeh Johnston
Arts Projects Co-Ordinator
Finance and Internal Operations
Sri Rajaratnam
Director Finance and Internal Operations
K G Abeysingha
Assistant Accountant
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