Trustees

Founder and CEO of Beatfreeks, a group of people and companies using creativity for good, Anisa has set up multiple companies and initiatives. Above all, she is passionate about youth, art for change, and redefining the culture of enterprise so that business and social are seen as inextricable. She is an experienced consultant, speaker and host. Anisa has won multiple awards for social enterprise, youth development and cultural leadership and is the youngest person to receive an Honorary Doctorate from Aston University as part of their 50 Year celebrations recognising ‘pioneers of change’. Anisa is also an UnLtd Fast Growth Winner, which “backs ambitious entrepreneurs solving Britain’s social problems at scale”. Anisa was awarded a Sky Academy Arts Scholarship in 2015, recognising her as a future cultural leader in the UK, offering mentoring from senior executives at Sky and senior leaders in the Arts and Cultural Industries as well as financial support. Anisa has delivered keynotes and talks from intimate rooms to crowds of over 1000. She hosted TEDxBrum 2014 and spoke at TEDxBrum 2016 around her concept ‘Build The Thing That Builds More Things’. In that very spirit, Anisa also founded and led the curation of the first ever TEDxYouth in Birmingham in 2017. Anisa is trained in corporate governance and occupies multiple places on boards and committees. She was a commissioner for the West Midlands Mayor’s commission into Diverse Leadership in 2018, is a part of University of Birmingham’s Foresight and Strategic Research Themes Group and was the social entrepreneur in residence for the Inclusive Economy Partnership’s youth unemployment pilot in 2019. Anisa helped the co-founders of GirlDreamer Ltd, a non profit empowering young women of colour through adventure sports, to establish their company structure and served a three year term on their board from 2016 – 2019. Anisa has recently been selected onto the Legacy and Benefits Committee for the Commonwealth Games 2022. Anisa is fiercely passionate about telling stories, building communities and inspiring action. Her life mission to facilitate amazing collaborations which help people to get ‘how their worlds work’.

Catherine Holden (she/her) is a culture and heritage consultant, trainer, facilitator and coach. Founded on extensive experience in senior roles for leading creative institutions, her practice spans organisational change and governance, fundraising strategy, brands and marketing, as well as personal and team development. Catherine’s clients include a wide range of national and regional museums, galleries, festivals, performing arts organisations, science centres, local authority trusts, heritage bodies and historic houses, as well as membership and leadership networks. Before founding her consultancy in 2016, Catherine’s career spanned National Museums Scotland, the Natural History Museum, Tate and the National Theatre. She is the chair of the national development agency Craft Scotland, a trustee of the Fruitmarket Gallery, and has served on the boards of the Arts Marketing Association and Edinburgh Art Festival. Catherine is based in Scotland and works across the UK and beyond. She has a First Class degree in English Literature from Oxford University.

Daisy Hale (they/them) is an award winning independent producer of exciting performance artists and Creative Director of The Hale. The Hale produces and develops artists who have been traditionally ostracised from the mainstream, with a focus on Queer, Trans, Global Majority & Learning Disabled & Neurodivergent identities. Daisy’s work is not bound by form and takes place in theaters, cabaret, clubs, digital and large scale events and focuses on using fun and populism that often has a grassroots activism strand to have wider conversations about socio-political topics. They advocate for producer development and creating alternative models of working, leadership and project creation built from a process of care and counterculture. Previously, Daisy was Associate Producer for Theatre Royal Stratford East and Assistant Producer for the Borough of Enfield’s Theatres. They have been part of the Old Vic 12 (2018/19) and did Clore Emerging Leaders in 2020. Daisy regularly facilitates for organizations including Clore, Soho Theatre, Yard Theatre, Stage One, NYT and Bradford Producing Hub. Daisy is an access consultant and disability equality trainer for arts organizations. They are also a trustee of ArtsAdmin. See more at: www.the-hale.com

Dame Vivien Duffield continues the philanthropic legacy of her father Sir Charles Clore, one of Britain’s most successful post-war businessmen. After Sir Charles’ death in 1979, Dame Vivien assumed the Chairmanship of the Clore Foundations in the UK and in Israel. In the UK she also established her own Vivien Duffield Foundation in 1987 and merged the two in 2000 to create the Clore Duffield Foundation. Dame Vivien’s UK Foundation has supported a wide range of organisations including the Royal Opera House, Tate, the Royal Ballet, the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, Dulwich Picture Gallery, the Southbank Centre and Eureka! The National Children’s Museum – to name just a few – as well as many hundreds of smaller projects. The Foundation has made a particular contribution to cultural education, having funded more than 40 Clore Learning Spaces across the UK, and to leadership training for the arts and charity sector, having launched Clore Leadership for the cultural sector in 2003 and Clore Social Leadership in 2008. In addition to the Chairmanship of her Foundation, Dame Vivien was a member of the Board of the Royal Opera House from 1990 to 2001 and is currently Chairman of the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund. She is a Director of the Southbank Centre board and a Governor of the Royal Ballet. From 2007 to 2010 she was Chair of the Campaign for Oxford University. She is the founder and Life President of JW3, London’s new Jewish Community Centre, which opened in September 2013, and founder and Life President of Eureka! in Halifax. She is also Chairman of the Clore Foundation in Israel. Dame Vivien’s charitable work has been formally acknowledged by many institutions, both in the UK and in Israel. She was awarded the CBE in 1989, the DBE in 2000, and won the Beacon Fellowship Prize in 2006. In 2008 HRH The Prince of Wales presented Dame Vivien with one of the first Medals for Arts Philanthropy. The Medal celebrates individuals who support the arts and recognises the contribution of the most inspiring philanthropists in the UK.

Former Senior Partner, and a founding partner, of City law firm SJ Berwin LLP. Since retiring from the firm in 2007 he has held a number of non executive or advisory positions including Chairman of Kyte Group Limited, Chairman of CPA Global Limited and Non Executive Director of Wichford PLC. He is currently a Non Executive Director of Rathbone Brothers PLC, Chairman of Savile Group PLC, a trustee of English National Opera, Executive Committee Member of The Countryside Alliance and Trustee of The Clore Duffield Foundation.

David Kershaw was CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi in 1995 when with Charles and Maurice Saatchi he resigned to set up M&C Saatchi where he was CEO until he stood down in 2021. He, with two other partners, has now formed Act 111 as a communications and investment group. David was a Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1988 to 1992. He was Chair of the Cultural Leadership Programme from 2006 to 2011 and Deputy Chair of the Southbank Centre until 2021. He is currently a Trustee of Grange Park Opera and of JW3.

Dhikshana (she/her) fell into the world of museums and galleries, changing her life personally and professionally. Not wanting where you grew up, your education opportunities or who you know to dictate whether you connect to or work in the creative and cultural sector. With a focus and passion on making the sector representative of the society we live in, connecting to the issues of today and exploring the challenges of the future, she wants to go beyond making collections or content accessible, but making this sector for and by everyone.   Dhikshana has been the Head of Engagement & Skills at Somerset House, London since January 2020,  just as a pandemic engulfed the world. In just over two years she has created a clear programme for Somerset House’s creative careers work and cultural programme engagement with a connection to their onsite creative community, and focusing on addressing underrepresentation in the sector. She also co-led on the organisation’s Anti-racism Pledge. Dhikshana’s career has been built in London over 16 years, working in learning and engagement across the Science Museum, London Transport Museum, and Brent 2020 – London Borough of Culture. She has led teams and worked with different audiences, but has found her interest lies with young adults, skills development and coproduction, and exploring the use of digital mediums and public space in a cultural context. Dhikshana is an active member and finds great solidarity, solace, and support in the Museum Detox network. Dhikshana has just completed her second term as an elected Trustee for the Museums Association, actively working on sector-wide workforce developments and most recently co-led and launched their Learning & Engagement Manifesto.

Kate McGrath co-founded Fuel, which she now leads as CEO, in 2004 to create fresh work, which engages with the world we live in with insight and vibrancy, for the widest possible audience. Fuel produces an adventurous, playful and significant programme of work – live, digital, and across art forms – for a large and representative audience across the UK and beyond. Fuel collaborates with outstanding artists with fresh perspectives and approaches who seek to explore our place in the world, expose our fears, understand our hopes for the future, create experiences which change us and in turn empower us to make change in the world around us. Other concurrent projects have included: Curator, You Are Here Edinburgh International Festival – looking at how EIF can engage more deeply internationally, and in particular with international artists engaging with the contemporary political and social context. 2019 saw her first programme, bringing bold and relevant work from across the world – including Canada/Greenland’s indigenous Laakkuluk Bathory Williamson, Nigeria’s Ifeoma Fafunwa, Belfast’s Oona Doherty, the radical Swiss director Milo Rau and the extraordinary talent of Burkina Faso’s Serge Aime Coulibaly. Kate also led on producing the Lyric Hammersmith’s programme from 2006-2009 under the Artistic Directorship of David Farr. Other roles include: Producer, Battersea Arts Centre (2002-2005). Arts & Features Writer, The Scotsman (2000 to 2002). Kate served as a Trustee of the JMK Trust (2012-2017), the Tobacco Factory Theatre (2014-2018), and as Chair of Camden Peoples Theatre (2012-2020). She is currently a Governor of Michael Faraday Primary School (since 2018), and was appointed to the Steering Committee of What Next? Young Vic in 2020. Kate has mentored and taught at: Copenhagen Stage; Women of the World, Southbank Centre; Dublin Theatre Festival; Clore Leadership Programme; Central School of Speech and Drama; Northern Stage; Birkbeck; University of Westminster; and Royal Holloway; amongst others.

Moira Sinclair OBE is Chief Executive of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. In 2018/2019, PHF will make £30m grants to organisations and individuals working in the arts, in cultural education, in migration and integration, and in giving young people voice. PHF also partners with Comic Relief on a £3m Tech for Good programme, and with Esmee Fairbairn and Step up to Serve on the £4m Act for Change Fund. Moira is Chair of East London Dance and Vice Chair of the London Mayor’s Cultural Strategy Board. She is also a member of the British Library Advisory Council, of the Investment Committee for the Arts Impact Fund and of the Governing Council for the European Foundation Centre. Previously she was Executive Director London and South East for Arts Council England, and Director of Vital Arts. She has worked in local government, and in theatre and production management. A graduate of Manchester University where she studied drama, Moira became a Clore Fellow in 2004/05.

Roly Keating has been Chief Executive of the British Library since September 2012. In his tenure so far, he has overseen a series of significant developments including: the launch in 2015 of Living Knowledge, an ambitious new vision and strategy; a major expansion of cultural and learning activities, including landmark exhibitions on Magna Carta and Harry Potter; new pan-UK partnerships with public libraries including the successful Business & IP Centre national network; digital initiatives including Save Our Sounds to preserve the UK’s audio heritage; the creation of the Knowledge Quarter, an innovative partnership of knowledge-based organisations near the Library’s London HQ; and the initiation of major new capital projects in London and Yorkshire, including full-scale renewal of the Library’s Boston Spa campus and creation of a major new public space in Leeds. Roly joined the Library after a long and successful career as a programme-maker and broadcasting executive at the BBC, where he played key roles in the launch of UKTV, as its first Head of Programming, and BBC Four, as its launch Controller in 2002, before moving on to become Controller of BBC Two and Director of Archive Content, with editorial oversight of the BBC’s online services including BBC iPlayer. Roly is a member of the board of Channel 4 and a Trustee of the Clore Leadership Programme. He chairs the Conference of European National Librarians and the Steering Committee for the 5-year AHRC-funded research programme Towards a National Collection. Roly holds Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Lincoln, Warwick and York.

Sarah Weir OBE, the first female appointed as Chief Executive of Design Council stepped down on 29 October 2020, after three and a half years at its helm. This brought to a close an illustrious career spanning 45 years. Her decision follows her diagnosis of a rare lung disease. Having left school at 16, Sarah started her career as a broker at Lloyd’s of London. Over a 15-year period, she went from being the office junior to the first female Managing Director in the Lloyd’s market. A passionate advocate of the creative economy, much of Sarah’s career since then has focused on arts, culture and design. Before joining Design Council, Sarah was previously Executive Producer at the Roundhouse in London and Chief Executive of Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. Her other past roles include Chief Executive of The Legacy List, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park charity (now called Foundation for Future London); Head of Arts and Cultural Strategy for Olympic Delivery Authority; Executive Director, Arts Council England; London and Executive Director of the Almeida Theatre. Sarah has a History of Art BA from Birkbeck College (1993-7), was awarded an OBE for services to the arts (2011), First Woman Awards for public service (2013) and is a Fellow of Birkbeck College (2013). Sarah was awarded an honorary doctorate from University of the Arts London for services to design in 2019 and she has served on the board of the Alzheimer’s Society since 2013.