AHRC Cities of Culture Network

Louise Ejgod Hansen

Associate Professor, Head of Research at Centre for Cultural Evaluation, Aarhus University, Denmark

From 2013-2018 Louise was project and research manager of rethink IMPACTS 2017 conducting the research-based evaluation of European Capital of Culture 2017, which in addition to the evaluation included 18 smaller research projects engaging an interdisciplinary group of academics.

Jacqueline Hodgson

Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Warwick

Jacqueline Hodgson is Professor of Law as well as Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Warwick. She established the Criminal Justice Centre and the cross-faculty Centre for Operational Policing Research. She has researched and written extensively in the area of UK, French, comparative and European criminal justice, collaborating with researchers across Europe, Australia, Canada and America. As DPVC, she has a broad portfolio, including as University lead supporting Research and City of Culture.

Tarek Iskander

Artistic Director and CEO Battersea Arts Centre

Tarek is Artistic Director and CEO of Battersea Arts Centre. Previous roles include Director for Theatre at Arts Council England and Resident Director at the National Theatre Studio. Tarek was also one of the founders and Associate Artistic Director of the Yard Theatre in Hackney. Prior to embarking on a career as a director and writer, he held a wide variety of senior management roles in the National Health Service.

John Knell

Summit Rapporteur

John Knell is a strategy consultant who works widely across the private, public and third sectors, and he has an international reputation as a cultural policy consultant, analyst and writer. John has worked widely across the cultural sector for the last 15 years, including commissioned and procured work with Arts Council England, NESTA; the BFI; The Big Lottery; Creative Scotland; Glasgow Life; the Australian Performing Arts Centres Association; and the Department of Culture and the Arts in Australia. John has also worked extensively with Manchester City Council, and other local authorities and LEPs on their cultural and place animation strategies.

Si Chun Lam

Senior Data Analyst, Insight Team Coventry City Council

Si Chun leads the insight intelligence function at Coventry City Council. An economist by training, Si Chun championed the development of Coventry’s research and intelligence approach to provide accessible and actionable insight to improve outcomes for communities. Key priorities include: health and wellbeing; sustainable recovery; and the City of Culture.

Emilie Lauren Jones

Poet

Emilie is a poet who has performed her poetry across the UK and Ireland and is widely published in anthologies. She runs regular writing workshops for adults and children and is involved in several events for City of Culture. Emilie is part of the current Nine Arches Press 'Dynamo' scheme. Her work often reflects on life in the West Midlands.

Elizabeth Lawal

Theatre maker, facilitator and cultural researcher

Elizabeth Zeddie Lawal is a theatre maker, facilitator, cultural researcher and a firm believer in the power of young people and social change. Since graduating from the University of Birmingham in Drama and Theatre Arts in 2016, she has been committed to inclusion, growth and changing the face of leadership within the city whilst using creativity as a mirror to society.

She is a writer of Exhale - a play exploring faith, sexuality and forgiveness, formally Head of Community at Free Radical - part of Beatfreeks Collective, Associate Producer of Coventry City of Culture and is recognised in The Stage 100 for More than a Moment: Action with and for the Black creative workforce.

Jonothan Neelands

Academic Director for Cultural Partnerships, University of Warwick

Jonothan Neelands is Academic Director for Cultural Partnerships at the University of Warwick. He has recently developed the Joint Cultural Needs Assessment Guidelines for ACE. He was lead writer for the Coventry Cultural Strategy 2017-2027 and is Academic Lead for Research and Evaluation for Coventry UK City of Culture 2021.

Laura Nyahuye

Founder, MAOKWO

Laura is a Zimbabwean-born artist, mother, storyteller, performer, wordsmith, founder of MAOKWO, an arts organisation. Laura designs and makes unique handcrafted wearable body adornments. Her work addresses social issues: representation in the arts sector for minoritised artists, women, young people, and migrant communities.  

Katy Raines

Founding Partner, Indigo

Katy is regarded as one of the UK’s leading consultants on data-driven marketing for Cultural Organisations, and as such has developed and led research and implementation programmes for large and middle scale organizations throughout the UK and Europe. She has a particular passion for using data to effect change and drive an audience-led approach in the cultural sector.  

During the 2020 Covid-19 crisis she developed and delivered the UK’s largest research programme of cultural attenders’ attitudes to returning to events - beginning with After The Interval - working with around 600 organisations and capturing responses from almost 300,000 attenders.

Martin Reeves

Chief Executive of Coventry City Council

Martin has been Chief Executive of Coventry City Council since April 2009.  He was also the Chief Executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority from March 2016 to September 2017.  He had previously been with Bedfordshire County Council for three and a half years as Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Executive. 

Chris Rolls

Head of Training and Development, 64 Million Artists

Chris works with community groups and organisations across the UK, supporting them to embed participation, co-creation, and wellbeing at the heart of their cultures. He has worked in partnership with local authorities, charities, cultural organisations and Cities and Boroughs of Culture. Chris has a background in community performing arts, producing large-scale community opera and theatre productions. He is also a psychotherapist in private practice, working with individuals and groups in East London.

Graham Russell

Chief Executive of AMION Consulting

Graham Russell is Chief Executive of AMION Consulting - an Economic and Financial Consultancy - and is currently leading the Economic Impact Assessment of the Coventry UK City of Culture. He has extensive experience of preparing public sector business cases using the HM Treasury Green Book, evaluations using the Magenta Book and has prepared national guidance on issues such as Additionality and Cost Benefit Analysis.

Harman Saggar

Head Economist for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

Harman Sagger is Head Economist for Arts, Heritage and Tourism (AHT) for DCMS and leads a small team of analysts within the AHT directorate, which includes analysts working on Culture and Heritage Capital and the Covid-19 Cultural Recovery Fund. Harman returned to DCMS in 2017 after 2 years as the British Film Institute’s Head of Economics. In his previous role at DCMS, he was at the heart of embedding a rigorous evidence-based approach within DCMS. He has previously worked for HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs, working on a range of areas, including emerging markets, globalisation, productivity, road charging and environmental taxes.

Ingrid Abreu Scherer

Civil Society Lead at The What Works Centre for Wellbeing

The What Works Centre for Wellbeing believes that improving wellbeing is the ultimate objective of policy and community action. Ingrid Abreu Scherer is Civil Society Lead at the Centre. She works with charities, social enterprises and those who support them to develop effective programmes and build evidence on what really works. Ingrid is co-founder and chair of trustees of The Mill, an asset-based community development project in East London. She has advised other charity boards, local authorities and social enterprises on asset-based approaches to community development.

Mark Scott

Monitoring and Data Manager, Coventry City of Culture Trust

Mark is responsible for the capturing the monitoring data for the evaluation of Coventry being the UK City of Culture in 2021. Working closely with colleagues from the University of Warwick, Coventry University, and Coventry City Council. The data collected will help demonstrate the impacts of Coventry 2021. 

Prior to joining the Trust, Mark worked with a variety of arts organisations including the National Theatre, Theatres Trust and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Mark is also currently a PhD candidate at the University of Warwick. 

Karamjit Singh

Chair Culture Coventry

Karamjit Singh CBE is the Chair of Coventry Culture. His previous roles have covered academia, voluntary sector, local government, equality, the justice sector, regulating the financial services and funding of political party finance, appointing senior civil servants and QCs and as an Ombudsman.

Christopher Smith

Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 

Professor Christopher Smith is the Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and International Champion for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). He has been Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews since 2002, and  was also Dean of Arts (2002-2006), Dean of Graduate Studies (2006-2009), and Vice-Principal (2007-2009), before being seconded as Director of the British School at Rome, the UK’s leading humanities and creative arts research institute overseas, from 2009 to 2017.

Martin Sutherland

Chief Executive of Coventry City of Culture Trust

Martin Sutherland is Chief Executive of Coventry City of Culture Trust, the organisation charged with delivering Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture in 2021.

Prior to joining the Trust, Martin spent ten years as the Chief Executive of Royal & Derngate theatres in Northampton (where he also established the Core at Corby Cube arts centre). He previously led The Corn Exchange and New Greenham Arts in Newbury and was a theatre, comedy and dance producer and General Manager based in London. 

Ben Walmsley

Director of the National Centre for Cultural Value

Ben is a Professor of Cultural Engagement in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries at the University of Leeds and Director of the National Centre for Cultural Value. Prior to his academic career, he worked as an arts manager for ten years, most recently as a Producer at the National Theatre of Scotland. Since 2014 Ben has been the Academic Director of the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Programme, which is now one of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations. Ben is the Co-Editor of Arts and the Market and has published widely on arts marketing, arts management, cultural policy and cultural value. Ben is currently leading a national research project investigating the impacts of Covid-19 on the cultural sector and the implications for policy.

Louise Yates

Director, Back to Ours

Louise started her career as an actor and performing arts teacher with a passion for engaging young people in th Arts. She managed the region’s largest youth arts organisation, Creative Connexions Humber, before becoming Arts Development officer at Hull City Council.

At Hull City Council Louise became involved in the UK City of Culture 2017 bid, her experience of engaging hard to reach communities leading to the role of Producer on the Back to Ours Festival and year-long Land of Green Ginger project. Throughout the delivery year Louise focused her work in communities, programming circus in school sports halls and atriums, famous indie bands in shopping centres and Secret Gigs into working men’s clubs.