Author: Bethan Jayne Goddard

Ros Carter is Head of Programme (Senior Curator) at John Hansard Gallery, part of the University of Southampton. She has over 30 years experience of curating and commissioning work with contemporary artists at a national and international level, forging links with many other organisations, including: TATE, Film & Video Umbrella, Hayward Gallery Touring, IMMA, Dublin, Louisiana Museum, Denmark, and KW Institute, Germany.

Recent curatorial projects have included: Hetain Patel, Derek Jarman, David Blandy, Bani Abidi, Gayle Chong Kwan, Permindar Kaur, Sarah Pierce, Emma Critchley, Mykola Ridnyi, Aaron Williamson, Melanie Manchot, Simeon Barclay and a major research project and publication on the work of Danish-Greenlandic artist, Pia Arke.

Additionally, she plays a key role in working at a local and regional level with other arts organisations and galleries in the Southampton and Hampshire region. She has previously served as a Visual Arts Advisor for ACE South East, a member of the Advisory Group for TheGallery at the Arts University Bournemouth, an Artist Mentor for the CVAN South West Mentoring Scheme, and is part of the current VASW Curator Bank mentoring scheme.

Ros is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Sarah Jerrard-Dinn is Managing Director of Imagineer Productions, a Coventry-based arts organisation known for creating ambitious outdoor performances, festivals and community-led creative projects. She leads the organisation’s strategic direction, creative development and organisational growth, overseeing a diverse programme of productions, artist development initiatives and community engagement, while establishing The Daimler Powerhouse as a vibrant hub for creativity, experimentation, collaboration and cultural exchange.

With a background spanning cultural leadership, operations, producing, organisational development and community engagement, Sarah brings extensive experience of developing festivals, programmes, partnerships and organisations that create opportunities for artists, young people and communities to connect, develop and thrive.

Before joining Imagineer, Sarah developed a consultancy practice supporting artists and cultural organisations through periods of growth and change, helping to build resilient, values-led organisations while championing fair, equitable and sustainable ways of working for artists, freelancers and cultural workers.

At Coventry Biennial, Sarah played a key role in the development of the organisation from an ambitious artist-led project into an internationally recognised contemporary arts festival and publicly funded cultural organisation. As Director of Operations and Engagement, she led organisational development, governance, learning and engagement, working closely with artists, communities and partners to create meaningful opportunities for participation, collaboration and artistic exchange.

Sarah is passionate about creating opportunities for people who may not traditionally see themselves reflected in the arts, championing creativity as a tool for connection, empowerment and social change.

Zoe Partington isn’t just working in disability arts, architecture, climate justice and design—she’s a catalyst for revolution. As a creative influencer, consultant, and trainer, she’s tearing down barriers and igniting a cultural paradigm shift. Her mission? To position disabled artists as the trailblazing professionals our environments, both digital and physical, desperately need to become truly inspiring.

A visionary artist herself, Zoe channels her unique perspective on sight loss into viscerally powerful installations. She masterfully crafts audiovisual and tactile experiences that plunge audiences into the raw journeys of disabled individuals navigating spaces, harnessing digital engagement like a force of nature. Her 2025 exhibition, “Human Rights in Neon Lights,” wasn’t just a display; it was a detonation of public discourse during Disability History Month.

Armed with degrees in Media and Design, Art, Design and Architecture, and Business Management, Zoe is no stranger to the power of influence. Her resume reads like a cultural who’s who, boasting collaborations with giants like the British Library, Arts Council England, RIBA, Shape London, and the British Council.

Zoe isn’t just preparing the cultural sector for disabled artists; she’s rebuilding it. Whether as practitioners, architecture students or visitors, she ensures disabled artists don’t just participate—they thrive. Currently, she’s shaking things up with the Liverpool Culture team, injecting disabled artists into the very heart of sport and art programming.

Her impact resonates globally:

A prestigious fellowship at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds.
Exhibitions in Madrid, showcasing her work alongside 50 disabled women.
An AIDF Award to Australia and Tasmania, forging connections with blind artists and makers worldwide.
A CABE bursary that propelled her research into wayfinding across Japan, Denmark, and the UK, culminating in her groundbreaking paper, “Naked Space.”

Zoe is a powerhouse on the global stage, regularly speaking and presenting. Even during the pandemic, she was relentless, training countless organizations online, crafting the Accessibility Cultural guidelines for Georgia with the British Council, and igniting the creation of a new, accessible arts center in Armenia by training its staff and architects. She’s not just changing the conversation; she’s rewriting the blueprint for an inclusive, dynamic future.

Professor Jennifer Powell is Director of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, and Barber Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham. Prior to this, she was Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Royal Academy of Arts, London and Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge.

She is a respected scholar in the field of modern and contemporary art, especially sculpture and exhibition cultures since 1945, an area in which she has published widely. Jennifer begun her curatorial career with the V&A before taking up the post of Assistant Curator of Modern British Art at Tate Britain in 2010. She was appointed Head of Collections, Programme and Research at Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge, in 2013, and played a key role in the gallery’s major capital extension project.

Ella Ritchie is Co-Founder & Director of Intoart, with 25 years practice committed to social justice led by the creative ambition of learning disabled artists. She leads Intoart’s strategic leadership and organisational development and has curated award-winning exhibitions, commissions, publishing in the UK and internationally.

Jiten Anand is Co-founder and Executive Director of Inspirate, a Leicester-based National Portfolio Organisation. The social enterprise produces a rich array of arts programmes that fosters collective experiences, celebrating culture, sparking reflective dialogue, encouraging open conversations and inspiring social action.

A visionary cultural entrepreneur, Jiten thrives on building connections between diverse communities and the arts. He specialises in developing cross-sector collaborations that create meaningful social impact. His leadership has been pivotal in the success of nationally acclaimed arts festivals, including An Indian Summer and Bring The Paint – both of which he co-founded. Over the years, Jiten has partnered with esteemed institutions such as the Royal Collection Trust and the British Science Association, as well as corporate giants like Sony TV and the State Bank of India.

Jiten is a recipient of the Deutsche Bank Awards for Creative Entrepreneurs, an honoured Pro Chancellor of De Montfort University and Trustee of New Art Exchange.

Moritz Cheung is an independent curator, working primarily on public programmes of artists’ film and video works, and Asian contemporary art. He has worked in both non-profit and commercial arts and cultural sectors, including museums, galleries, art fairs (Art Basel Hong Kong), biennale festivals (Venice Architecture) and art organisations. He is currently Curator of videoclub, an artists’ film and video platform, working on curating and delivering programmes across the UK and internationally; this work includes Both Sides Now, a collaboration with Videotage (Hong Kong), working across the UK and East Asia. Cheung has also established Platform Asia, a UK-based art organisation that supports and promotes Asian contemporary art by providing opportunities for artists with Asian heritage based in the UK and internationally. His recent curatorial and research focuses are British Asian contemporary art, diasporic culture, queer art, and transnational culture.

Andrea Vaz is the CEO at The Black-E.  The Black-E is a grade II listed building in the heart of Liverpool and next to the oldest Chinatown in Europe.

Founded by Bill and Wendy Harpe, The Black-E is a national participatory arts centre. For nearly 60 years we have demonstrated a commitment to artistic excellence and social transformation. Through the power of cultural equity, we connect artists to our communities and enable the people of Liverpool to tell their story to the world.

Bobby Baker (b. 1950, Kent, lives and works in London) is a pioneering artist whose intersectional feminist practice spans performance, drawing, and installation. Since the 1970s, she has explored the overlooked and stigmatised aspects of women’s daily lives, as seen in Drawing on a Mother’s Experience (1988) and Kitchen Show (1991). A remake of her acclaimed 1976 sculptural installation An Edible Family in a Mobile Home was presented as part of the landmark exhibition Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970–1990 (Tate Britain; The Whitworth). Her work has also been shown at many prestigious international venues including Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, La Casa Encendida (Madrid), the Barbican, ICA and the Wellcome Collection (London). Baker studied painting at Central St. Martins and holds an Honorary Doctorate from Queen Mary University of London. Distinguished by wit and subversion, her practice offers a radical engagement with the systems of labour, power and inequality that shape women’s everyday lives across the globe.

Photo credit to Hugo Glendinning

Lucy Barnes is the Exhibitions and Residencies Manager at LEVEL Centre, where she is a part of the Senior Leadership Team who deliver a nationally significant programme of digital and visual arts exhibitions. Driven by LEVEL’s mission to “Celebrate the art that difference makes”, Lucy ensures all exhibitions are fully accessible and showcase the work of disabled artists. She also oversees LEVEL’s residency programme, supporting the professional development of emerging and established talent by continuously adapting to the evolving needs of artists and audiences.