Duncan Walthew

Trustee

Duncan Walthew is a Gloucestershire-based arts educator with over 30 years experience, setting up and programming the Sundial Theatre at Cirencester College as a producing house built around the Performing Arts Department that he ran. As a director and playwright he created innovative and immersive productions that toured to the Edinburgh Festival giving young performers the chance to play ambitious roles specifically written for them. Duncan has experience in venue management and loves to sing east- European polyphony. His favourite music is jazz...

Barney Heywood

Trustee

Barney Heywood is a designer and artist. Through his company, Stand + Stare, that he runs with his sister, he creates interactive installations, exhibitions and apps. These automated experiences are often based on historical material and memory, which has led him to work with museums, libraries, universities and a variety of organisations seeking innovative ways in which to open up their archives and to tell stories in new ways.

Stand + Stare’s work is characterised by a sense of warmth and nostalgia, with tech elements largely hidden, to allow people to focus on tangible objects and physical experiences.

Kaoru Blackstone

Trustee

Kaoru Blackstone is a museum & gallery professional specialising in public engagement, lifelong learning and interpretation. She has been particularly interested in science & art, art & craft movement and experimental art (avant-garde’ and modern installation art). She currently works as a Learning Programme Developer at the Natural History Museum since 2006, producing activities and events for families, schools and communities. Through those projects, she has been working with scientists, artists, actors, musicians, media techs and engineers as well as managing staff and volunteers who facilitate learning activities. She has her academic background in pedagogy, psychology, art history and museum and gallery studies.

Robbie Duncan

Trustee

Robbie Duncan is a professional DJ and freelance tutor, having worked in the music & event industry since 2004. Robbie runs Digital DJ workshops at SVA for under represented members of the community. He has previously co-delivered school workshops for the Cirencester based, Rural Black History Project, and worked as Head of Operations & Purchasing for the global creative studio network, Pirate Studios. Born and educated in Stroud after his parents emigrated from Jamaica, Robbie has held a variety of leadership roles outside the music industry with some of the world’s leading companies. He currently works with young people to enable them to build confidence and reach their goals.

Deborah potts

Trustee

Deborah is CEO of The Music Works, a Gloucestershire-based charity that uses music to inspire and transform the lives of young people. Prior to this she was CEO of Active Gloucestershire and Women in Sport so she has a lot of experience in charity governance, management and impact development. She lives in Stroud, has 2 grown up children, and the whole family are frequent users of the SVA.

Andy Freedman

Trustee

Andy Freedman is Head of Media at Cirencester College, and has worked as an Education and Training Officer, freelance writer and film and video maker. He has made video productions for Gloucestershire County Council Social Services, Gloucester Prince’s Trust and South West Media Development Agency, and in 1996 set up New Media at Cirencester College, a DfE funded public access digital facility for the region.

He is a member of Gloucestershire Digital Arts Forum, and an External Verifier for the National Diploma in Media for Edexcel. Andy is a college governor, Director of the charity Forest School Camps and Director of Stroud Cinema Trust.

David Elford

Trustee

David has a breadth of experience in senior commercial management including Finance, Customer Relations, IT, and Human Resources. He has managed a number of multi-million pound projects.  David has owned and run a family IT business specialising in automated online hotel reservations software that included installations at Heathrow, Gatwick, Schiphol, and New Delhi. Additionally, he was responsible for creating a new IT environment from scratch for a 300 shop retailer. 

David has been a consultant within the cultural sector for many years and been involved with over 100  projects embracing some of the Nation’s most significant arts organisations including an appraisal of many of England’s most significant art galleries, a review of Notting HIll Carnival, and a feasibility study for an International arts festival at Limerick. He has had interim roles as Chief Executive for Carnival Village and Finance Director at the Young Vic.

His work in the voluntary sector includes Chair of Governors at a 1500 pupil comprehensive school where he created the funds to build a significant arts complex. He chaired South Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell and was responsible for creating a theatre, art gallery, and dance studio and, later, raised the funds for, and project managed, a multi-million pound renewal of the Listed building element.