Clore Fellows

I am a leader in the creative and cultural industries, with significant experience in the education sector. Having grown and established the international cultural learning organisation Global Learning London in my role as Head, I moved on to become Joint CEO at Shubbak — Europe’s largest festival of contemporary Arab arts. I have worked closely with national and international organisations including the British Museum, the National Theatre, Clore Leadership and the British Council to create high-profile, critical encounters that question the parameters of cultural representation and inclusion in education and the arts. I curated the launch events of the British Museum’s new multi-million pound Albukhary Galler of Islamic Arts. I have produced critically-acclaimed theatre works by playwrights from Arab heritage, a number of which have gone on to tour internationally. I am a British Council/Chevening Scholar, a Clore Fellow and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. I am recipient of the Writer’s Guild Olwen Wymark Award for encouragement of new writing in 2019 and was nominated for a BAFTA Scotland in 2008. I am an accredited RD1st coach (with distinction) and volunteers nationally and internationally to coach and mentor people with reduced access to opportunities in the cultural industries.

Anna Higgs is an award-winning producer and creative executive who leads ground-breaking work at the intersection of film and digital storytelling. Anna has recently taken up the position of Head of Entertainment at Facebook, where she leads the team working strategically across film, TV, music and publishing – helping partners connect more meaningfully with audiences. Anna also sits on various media, arts and culture bodies including the British Screen Advisory Council, the BAFTA Film Committee and has been a mentor the Clore Fellowship and the Creative Diversity Network. Prior to joining Facebook, Anna was Creative Director at NOWNESS, a global video channel bringing together the best in culture, with the best of emerging and established filmmaking voices. A partnership between Dazed Media and the LVMH group, NOWNESS is a movement for creative excellence in storytelling celebrating the extraordinary of every day. Before NOWNESS she was Head of Digital at Film4, spearheading innovation for the Oscar-winning film fund with projects including Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England, Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard’s 20,000 Days on Earth, Ken Loach’s The Spirit of ’45 and Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank. Other credits include the upcoming High-Rise starring Tom Hiddleston, Sundance-winner Dark Horse and Peter Strickland’s The Duke of Burgundy. She was named as one of Time Out’s inaugural ‘Culture 100’, described as “the innovators, visionaries and pioneers behind what’s now and what’s next” alongside Stella McCartney, Danny Boyle and Steve McQueen, and in 2017 was selected by Creative Review as one of their Creative Leaders 50 among the likes of Felix Barrett and Jude Kelly.