Unlimited is currently delivered by Shape Arts, Artsadmin, and Senior Producer, Jo Verrent. But we are transitioning to an independent organisation. This process will be complete by March 2022. As part of this transition, we have a new board!
Here’s a breakdown of who’s on board (pun intended)…
Anna Starkey
Chair
Anna Starkey is an inter-disciplinary creative producer, curator and writer.
They were Creative Director of We the Curious, where they led the content and vision over a five year transformation phase, evolving from At-Bristol Science Centre into a cultural venue and movement dedicated to nurturing curiosity and connecting science and the arts.
Anna was freelance in TV for over a decade, as a script editor, voice director and BAFTA nominated children’s animation writer, as well as producing the BBC Proms for TV, series producing BBC Young Dancer, and global live cinema broadcasts from the Royal Opera House.
With a degree in Physics, Anna has previously lectured on antimatter, as the UK Particle Physics Outreach Officer, and has produced live data-taking experiments as theatrical events while Director of Impossible Projects for Lottolab Studio, a pioneering public perception laboratory.
Anna has performed sketch and stand-up comedy and originally dreamt of being an astronaut, but meantime, they enjoy experimenting and exploring creative intersections where people and ideas can meet with equity.
Anna is a TEDx speaker, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a trustee of the Paraorchestra and Chair of theatre producing company MAYK.
Tarik Elmoutawakil
Vice Chair
Tarik Elmoutawakil is an artist, programmer and creative producer as well as Founder and Co-Artistic Director at Marlborough Productions in Brighton, the UK’s only performing arts orgnasiation dedicated to intersectional queer arts. His current public work is entitled ‘Brownton Abbey’, an Afro-Futures Performance Party that centres disabled QTIPOC (queer, trans and intersex People of Colour).
Brownton Abbey reclaims and reinterprets QTIPOC spirituality and ritual, channelling it into an out-of-this-world, accessible party. Tarik is plugged into a network of disabled qtipoc artivists across the globe, contributing to an ongoing movement to reshape access, inclusion and leadership. A spirited public speaker, Tarik uses his joyous brand of activism wherever he can to transform the perception and treatment of diverse QTIPOC.
Adel Al-Salloum
Treasurer
Adel Al-Salloum is the Director of The Spark Arts for Children in who deliver a world class arts festival for children 0-13 each year in Leicester. Outside of the Festival the Spark commissioning and produce work to be shared in Library and School spaces.
Prior to joining Spark in 2012 Adel has worked as an Associate Director for Curve, Leicester and Northern Stage Newcastle.
Adel graduated from Rose Bruford College in 1995 with a degree in Theatre and in the early part of her career worked at the Tricycle Theatre (now Kiln) in London as a member of the Youth Theatre team. It’s is there my passion and enthusiasm for making work with and for children and young people began.
As a Creative Facilitator and Director Adel is passionate about the arts and the transformative power it can have on our lives. About collaborating with children, young people and other artists to create new work that reflects the challenges, desires and unexplainable nuances around what it is to be human.
Thomas Ryalls
Secretary
Tom is a theatre maker and producer, he focuses on using both skillsets to reveal the structures that govern our world and enabling people to make decisions if they want to continue upholding these structures. As a theatre maker he is focusing on two projects.
‘The Black Hole Project’ is intervening in the medical narrative of childhood epilepsy to enable people to explore the psychological and emotional effects of the condition. It began with ‘Can You See In to a Black Hole?’ a solo show exploring his own childhood commissioned by Upstart Theatre. He has now completed a residency for the second show in the project which is a family show about the unlimited resilience of childhood imagination.
‘Inbadtaste’ is a strand of tacky work focusing on deconstructing middle-class taste values and the way they prop-up capitalism. It begins with the new show ‘Education, Education, Karaoke’ which has been commissioned by Camden People’s Theatre for development in 2021.
As a producer Tom focuses on developing and funding community-orientated creative projects that develop sustainable structures owned by that community. He is one of the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Fellows for 2020 and part of the Creative Leadership Programme delivered by The School for Social Entrepreneurs, where he is focusing on the research question “How do we better enable working-class communities to produce cultural and creative leaders?”. He is also the Assistant Producer for touring theatre company Out of Joint and a member of the working-class artist group.
Hannah Aria
I am a neuro-divergent artist and workshop facilitator who focuses on art for change. I develop live, participatory and visual artworks underpinned by a social justice agenda.
My life experiences fuel my creative drive to promote positive change in a variety of contexts. Sociology, psychology and political themes are often evident in my work.
I have extensive experience of youth and community engagement and graduated this year with a 1st Class Degree in Arts Practice Ba/Hons. My dissertation inspired and challenged me to explore, evaluate and highlight gaps in equal access to arts funding, combining theoretical and pragmatic perspectives. I have exhibited extensively across the East of England and at London’s Brick Lane Gallery.
During lockdown I was commissioned by Arts La’Olam to deliver a 12 week series of interactive online tutorials and live streams promoting art for wellbeing. Prior to this I had completed a one year Art Residency at Quay place, delivering weekly wellbeing workshops for mental health service users with Suffolk Mind. I am currently gaining support from Mercury Creatives.
David Dixon
David is a nationally exhibiting artist, educator and project manager. He speaks at conferences, and teaches at all educational levels from primary to university. He has been the Director of Andover’s Chapel Arts Studios since their launch in 2009 and has developed CAS into a research-driven visual-arts organisation with a strong education programme and a focus on community engagement, artist development and collaboration.
He is an advocate of accessibility, openness and all things that help to generate a dynamic and diverse interaction between artists and the community.
Carole Edrich
Founder of the disruptive impact company DanceGRiST, the experience of lots of nasty -isms from inside and outside the arts sectors make me ever more determined to help change the world 🌍. I’ve been a publisher, photographer, editor and curator, consulted and run projects and programmes in manufacturing, finance and the arts, run a boutique management consultancy, contributed to one of the first formal risk management frameworks, written 7 books and contributed to more. I created the UK Government’s first Management of Risk exams, the initial post-tsunami recovery framework for the Maldives, the first live dance event at the RSA, 4 photography competitions, 7 exhibitions, was part of the team who worked on lessons learned from 9-11, project managed an anti-racism conference and founded and mentor several self-organised teams of creatives who use Agile Scrum to develop sustainable incomes from arts projects for our communities.
Aggressive chemotherapy for equally aggressive breast cancer left me with chronic fatigue (along with other stuff) but I don’t define myself through my disabilities and expect the same of you.
In summary; I am 1 part programme manager, 1 part creative, 1 part collaborator, 1 part activist, 1 part trainer, coach and mentor. I am 1 part journalist, 1 part photographer, 1 part dancer, 1 part dreamer and 1 part pragmatic disruptive impact-oriented innovator. Too many parts? That’s how it goes 😊.
Ruth Fabby MBE, DL, FRSA, WCMT Fellow
Ruth Fabby [formerly Gould until October 2019] is the Director of Disability Arts Cymru (DAC) since August 2019. Now residing in Cardiff, Ruth is leading the organisation to support a creative and equal Cymru where disabled and Deaf people are pivotal to the arts of the nation. Its mission is to open up access and opportunity, celebrate diversity, nurture new talent and established high-calibre disabled/Deaf creative industries practitioners, and inspiring change throughout Cymru.
Previously she was the founder and Artistic Director of DaDaFest, one of the most successful disability arts festivals in the world. Based in Liverpool, DaDaFest began as North West Disability Arts Forum in 1984, to support the development of disabled/Deaf artists. DaDaFest continues to produce a biennial international festival with artists from across the globe.
Ruth initially trained in performance arts, speech and drama at Liverpool Theatre School, and has worked in the arts / disability arts all her professional life. Ruth was the chair for the Unlimited Commissioning Panel in 2015. As a stimulating and enthusiastic public speaker, Ruth is regularly invited to speak about subjects relating to Disability and Deaf arts at conferences and cultural events across the globe. In the last two years she has worked in Finland, Qatar, Toronto, New Delhi, Pittsburgh [PA], Raleigh [NC], San Francisco and across the UK delivering talks, chairing or leading workshops.
She is a Winston Churchill Travel Fellow 2014, visiting India, Malawi & South Africa, and has also been to DR Congo, Australia and various part of Europe to create and encourage connections with disability organisations around the world.
Nichola Ibe
Nichola is an Artist and Petroleum Geologist, a fusion of the creative and scientific.
As an artist she works with words, and is a writer of fiction, non-fiction and words in all its forms. An observer of people, interested in social commentary, her writing focuses on thought-provoking, forgotten or hidden issues, rarely discussed in the mainstream. Life experiences and story gems mined from places she visits and people she meets in her exploration of the world, informs her work.
Nichola has over 25 years of experience in the oil, gas and energy industry working in exploration, field development, seismic acquisition, project evaluation, joint ventures, asset management, asset acquisition and divestment. She has worked for international oil and energy companies, sector service companies and governments on projects worldwide. Countries United Kingdom, Norway, United States of America, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Austria, France, Germany, Algeria, Nigeria, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Sao Tome, Mozambique, Somalia, Comoros, amongst others. Business skills include strategic development and planning, business development, operational and project management, stakeholder management and governance. Nichola has a degree in Geology and Economics, and holds an MSc in Petroleum Geology from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College with a focus on Reservoir Development.
Nichola is a passionate supporter of the Arts in all its forms, and a vigorous advocate of equality and access for all.
Jocelyn Mills
Jocelyn S. Mills is a creative producer with a particular interest in how/where work and audiences meet. She works in performance, installation, participation, play and public space. Jocelyn is the touring producer at Kaleider (Devon) for national and international projects. One of the favourite bits of her job are the collaborative conversations that happen with programmers about siting work and the art of invitation in public space. Key drivers are care and critical thinking. Her strengths and motivations lie in people, building relationships, trust and opportunities.
Jocelyn’s UK career started in 2016 after a long time living in Canada and Spain. Her background is in theatre. She trained in construction for the theatre at Escénica, Seville, and apprenticed in Stage Management with the Arts Club Theatre in Vancouver, Canada. Later she Programme Managed Entertainment Business Management at Vancouver Film School and started freelance producing. Jocelyn grew up in the pubs and arcades of Blackpool and its surrounding countryside.
Sonny Nwachukwu
Sonny Nwachukwu is a writer, director, choreographer and performer based in London. His work is multi-disciplinary spanning across writing, poetry, dance, theatre and anything that lies beyond. His work primarily focuses on the African and Caribbean Diaspora.
Sonny is a storyteller that incorporates dance and literature making his work relevant, unique, vibrant and thought-provoking. His academic background in Psychology informs much of his work and he is keen to tackle issues seen as taboo or ‘different’.
Sonny received his dance training from authentic West African and dancehall teachers. He has performed with numerous Afrobeats and dancehall artists working across the UK and has performed at venues including Sadler’s Wells and SSE Wembley stadium.
In 2019 Sonny was awarded an Unlimited and Spirit of 2012 commission, to create his first full length work entitled Circles, A choreopoem. Other current works, include Triple Threat (2019) which will premiere at Poplar Union. Sonny is the founder of Gateway Arts Productions and currently works in the Theatre department of Arts Council England.
Sorcha Pringle
Sorcha Pringle is a musician, composer and disabled activist based in Dundee. Her work is largely in the inclusive arts sector in Scotland where she delivers accessible music workshops and advocates for equal access to music and creative experiences for all. Recently her work has become more intrinsically linked with her activism and she expresses this through poetry and song. She is founder of the small business Springboard Creative Arts, which supports and champions young aspiring disabled musicians, and offers a support network for disabled women working in the arts in Scotland. She is looking forward to developing a new strand of this work teaching global citizenship and climate justice education through the creative arts in 2021. You can also find her drinking good coffee or on walks with her dog.
David Tovey
David is a formerly homeless artist, educator and activist who works in a range of media. He is a photographer, painter as well as an installation artist and performance-maker, At the heart of David’s practice is a very special quality – the ability to bring you to the subject in ways both beautiful and hard-hitting in equal measure in order to raise awareness about the social issues he tackles. David has exhibited internationally in locations such as the Atsa Festival Montreal, Kunsthall Stavern Norway, Tate Modern and Tate Liverpool and he is also the founder of the UK’s first One Festival of Homeless Arts. He speaks regularly at housing and homelessness events and teaches art to people experiencing homelessness at Passage House. His Man on Bench performances have earned him significant acclaim and have taken place on the pavement of the London’s Southbank, The Mayfield Depot Manchester and the halls of Tate Exchange.
David is the Creative Producer at Arts & Homelessness International. Is a Big Issue Change maker 2019, a Core group member of the Museum of Homelessness and a steering group member for What Next?
We want meaningful relationships with venues and organisations UK-wide, which are personal and tailored to what we can both offer each other.