Author: Carmela Vienna

Sima Gonsai is an award-winning artistic film maker, arts producer and film festival curator. Based in the West Midlands, Sima originally trained in visual communication and her practice explores cultural narratives through screen dance and social documentary. She is the screen dance curator for BAFTA qualifying Flatpack Film Festival and an arts producer for a range of moving image artists. Her extensive experience in film production and visual arts, enables her to combine her storytelling abilities to create artistic films capturing under represented voices across the disapora. 

Her work is rooted in collaboration, with a commitment to connecting human experience, people and place. Her working process varies with each project; from narrative-led storytelling and the visceral language of movement, contemporary dance and film to connect with her subjects or themes; to collaborate with differently-abled artists; international communities; or a combination of many of these processes at once. 

At the heart of her practice is a desire to experiment with digital, create tech and inclusive ways of storytelling, where deep human narratives are told through the medium of multimedia, dance and film. Her work is rooted in presenting intergenerational social and cultural experiences and explores bodily signatures to explore social and environmental studies.Her artwork has received accolades globally including, Best Digital Inclusion award for createch dancefilm Suspended Motion and nominated by Royal Television Society alongside receiving funding from Creative England, The Space and Arts Council England. 

Dr Cliff Lauson is currently Director of Exhibitions at Somerset House, London, overseeing the exhibitions and commissions programme. He has personally curated commissions by international artists such as Hylozoic/Desires, Jitish Kallat, Zheng Bo, Amba Sayal-Bennett and Theresa Weber. Last year, he curated the major exhibition Wayne McGregor: Infinite Bodies with the internationally renowned choreographer, and is currently preparing a group exhibition of work by Sámi artists for late 2026.

Until 2022, Cliff was Senior Curator at the Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, having organised major exhibitions of work by Matthew Barney, Bridget Riley, Martin Creed, Ernesto Neto, Tracey Emin and David Shrigley, as well as the critically acclaimed group exhibitions Strange Clay, Light Show and Space Shifters. Independently, he recently curated Rana Begum: Dappled Light at Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre, which toured internationally. Cliff has held previous positions at Tate Modern and the UBC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver. He currently serves on the steering group for the Art Fund Curatorial Diversity Programme, is a former trustee of Film and Video Umbrella, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Dean Melbourne is a practicing artist, educator and mentor with over 25 years of experience across the art world spanning both public and private sectors. He is currently part of the faculty at Contemporary Art Academy, delivering on their PG3 programme, and has recently served as a senior advisor at Cosimo.

He has previously worked with organisations including Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Birmingham Hippodrome, DASH, Grand Union, Coventry University, Creative Alliance and University of Birmingham while working at Creative Shift Consultancy, delivering development programmes to a wide range of creative organisations, independent producers, artists and SMEs.

As an artist, Dean has exhibited in London, Hong Kong, Miami and New York, including two solo exhibitions and a collaborative museum exhibition at The Lightbox in Woking. He has been selected for the RA Summer Exhibition three times and has work held in numerous private collections.

Over the last six years Dean has run The Artist Advisor, mentoring over 200 artists and designing and delivering courses, with a current focus on the creative process itself.

Dean’s next course, Riproject, launches this autumn – follow Dean for updates and to register your interest. Dean offers one-to-one coaching sessions where you can email [email protected] to find out more. Dean’s work thrives on referrals – if you know someone who’d benefit, please pass on his details. And if you’d like to show your support, you can always buy him a coffee.

Joséphine is a senior curator and former gallery director with over a decade of experience across commercial galleries, institutions and international exhibition production, including roles at the Barbican, Christie’s, Gagosian and Gallery Rosenfeld. Her practice is grounded in artist advocacy, feminist perspectives, strategic programming, and the development of sustained professional and cultural networks.

Alongside her gallery roles, she founded 8 Vine Yard Residency & Project Space in Borough, south London, and co-founded ArtLoft, a cultural salon and mentorship initiative focused on access, visibility, and critical exchange for emerging and mid-career artists, hosting leading figures across contemporary art and culture.

This experience now informs Ansaldo, where her practice focuses on connection, building relationships between artists, galleries, curators and institutions, and creating the conditions through which opportunity, dialogue, and long-term careers can develop.

Jade Foster is a non-speaking curator, writer and cultural strategist whose work examines how political, legal, technological and organisational systems shape contemporary cultural practice across the Caribbean and its diasporas. Their practice integrates ecosystemic leadership, disability-justice methodologies and commissioning-led exhibition making, including the multi-sensory exhibition Queer Texture at Primary and the community-built digital station freegrenada.radio, supported by the Paul Mellon Centre. Foster’s interdisciplinary research engages Caribbean, Soviet and post-Soviet, Central Asian and Latin American material cultures, with particular attention to Black Atlantic visuality, colonial circulation and non-Western knowledge systems. They are currently undertaking the MBA in Cultural and Creative Leadership at Teesside University, and their writing has appeared in Art Monthly, ArtReview, LUX, Camera Austria International and Corridor8. Foster is also the author of the introductory essay for Maia Ruth Lee’s Bondage Baggage (Radius Books, 2025).

They were a freelance Curator (2018–2025), turned Curatorial and Business Consultant (2025–present), Director of Black Curators Collective, Trustee of Nottingham Contemporary (2020–present), Curator at DASH (2024–2025), and Curator at Primary (2020–present).

Jade experiences Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), which arose in part due to workplace and structural inequity. They are proud to champion greater representation of non-White, non-speaking, and disabled leaders.

Dr. Lina Džuverović is a curator, writer and academic based in London where she leads the MA in Curating and Collections at Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts. Rooted in decolonial and feminist thought, her research reimagines the contemporary art sphere as a site of solidarity and community-building. Lina’s research focus is on collectivity and labour in contemporary art, which she investigates though the long-term project and network ‘And Others: The Gendered Politics and Practices of Art Collectives’.

Curated and co-curated exhibitions include: ‘Hope is a Discipline’, 60th October Salon, (Belgrade, Serbia, 2024), ‘Monuments Should Not Be Trusted’ (Nottingham Contemporary, 2016),  Sanja Iveković – ‘Unknown Heroine’ (South London Gallery/Calvert 22, 2012), and the 5th Nordic Contemporary Art Biennial (Norway, 2009). She has worked in a range of academic, Artistic Director and curatorial roles and co-founded the arts organisation Electra in 2003. She has received numerous awards, including the Bard College Center for the Arts and Human Rights Faculty Fellowship, Birkbeck Strategic Research Grants, AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award for a PhD at Tate/Royal College of art and Arts Council England’s Mid-Career Curatorial Award.

Calum Hall is a prominent figure in the arts and culture sector, known for his dedication to promoting and supporting emerging artists. As the founder of Creative Debuts, he has been instrumental in reshaping the landscape of contemporary art and culture. Hall’s background in events and nightlife gives him a unique perspective on the intersection of brand engagement and artistic expression. His innovative approach has led to successful collaborations with esteemed brands including adidas, Disney, eBay and LinkedIn, fostering a greater appreciation for art in everyday settings.

Recently recognised on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Arts & Culture category, Hall continues to be a leading voice in advocating for diversity and inclusion within the arts and for using art as a vehicle for sparking conversations regarding social and political issues.

Calum is also co-founder of Studio 404, a culture-led placemaking venture that reactivates vacant shops and underused buildings through exhibitions, workshops and brand partnerships – rebuilding offline community spaces and bringing people back together in person.

Alexandra Steinacker-Clark is an American-Austrian art historian, curator, author, and podcaster living and working in London. She is the founder and host of the All About Art podcast, and co-director of NXT GEN: AWITA x All About Art, a programme designed to support early career arts professionals. Her specialisations are in contemporary art and its markets, along with accessibility, engagement, and the demystification of the professional art sector. Alexandra is a TEDx speaker, having presented a talk on ‘Can Consuming Art Increase Empathy’ in 2023, and author of Working in Art: How to Build A Career in the Art World (Octopus, 2026).

Working in Art: How to Build A Career in the Art World is out now in the UK – and publishing in the US on 14 July. Grab your copy here.

Alexandra’s profile picture is copyright of Ines Wurm Photography

Nigel Ip is a freelance critic and art historian based in London. A regular contributor to Trois Crayons and FLO London, his reviews have also featured in Print Quarterly, arslonga, Museum Bookstore and SAVANT Art Magazine. His writings fuse academic breadth with simple language, always with the aim of making art history accessible to all.

As a specialist in Italian Renaissance art and works on paper, Nigel’s previous work has included cataloguing collections at the National Maritime Museum and Fusilier Museum London, client services in museums and commercial galleries, assisting exhibition projects, and delivering talks to diverse audiences at places like The Brown Collection. He recently curated the exhibition Ways of Perceiving at Apsara Studio.