BRIEF BIOGRAPHY: Samina Zahir, Director

Samina Zahir is a freelance arts/ community consultant and Creative Producer who has been working in the arts, media and community sector for over fifteen years. Her work experience crosses individual & organisational development, event production/ management, education, community development, conference design, training & mentoring, artistic programming, project evaluation, community arts projects and research/ consultation in a range of fields.

She is in the final stages of writing up a PhD that examines cultural identities and methods of representation within cultural production. Samina firmly believes in the development of communities and the power of the individual to define strategy and policy development. In keeping with this she is a firm believer in action research as a research methodology having long-term benefits beyond the researcher. Samina has also published work in a range of journals and books, both academic and arts sector led.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY: Steven McLean, Creative Director

Steven McLean is an award winning film producer and an internationally experienced social care & arts manager. Over the last 10 years Steven has worked almost entirely with marginalised groups providing advice, support and services to a diverse group of individuals and organizations including the Unit for Arts and Offenders, Birmingham City Council, the National Children's Homes (NCH), and the United Nations. Steven's creative practice has been informed by a desire to create work with a social message for a diverse world. As a video promo, and broadcast television producer (Channel 4, ITV, Anglia TV, BBC), Steven has worked & learned under the wings of BAFTA award winners in documentary & drama; With Personal Growth TV Steven will work tirelessly to bring important self help content & issues to the people who need them most.

Within his artist led career, much of Steven McLean’s work has been experimental. Steven attended the BBC Producer Foundation Course where he acquired a better understanding of the responsibilities of producers to their audience as well as how to manage a creative team; he has also attended the Platinum workshops. Steven also has considerable experience working within TV and a range of film genre; within the documentary realm his relationship has been to explore issues relating to individuals that resonate in all of our minds. Steven is experienced in production work and aware of the time required to produce strong work, which is able to be both reflective as well as responding to socially rooted needs. Steven often works with a creative team who are in a position to enable artistic and academic discussion.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY: Belinda Kidd, freelance consultant

Belinda Kidd has worked in the arts at a senior level for many years, both within arts organisations and within the arts funding system, at Greater London Arts and as Director of Cultural Services for West Midlands Arts. She was Head of Arts for Birmingham City Council from 1999 to 2001, producing a series of large-scale arts events for the Millennium celebrations, including ArtsFest, the Forward Festival, and Splash! (for BBC Millennium Music Live). She has worked for many arts organizations, including Theatre Royal Stratford East, Dance Xchange, The Drum, Oval House, Steel an’ Skin and MAAS, and started her career at the Oval House in South London.

As a consultant, she has worked on a variety of projects for example producing a research report for South East Arts on Festivals in the South East , involving extensive primary research (with Jenna Kumiega), a study on the professional development needs of artists in North Staffordshire (with Jenna Kumiega), developing a cultural strategy for East Kent (with David Powell Associates), an education strategy for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and most recently a feasibility study into the proposal for a new international dance festival in Birmingham (with Audiences Central), in addition to her recent projects with Hybrid.

She has extensive experience of working on business plans and feasibility studies, e.g. for the Brighton Festival for the Dome project that helped to secure £15 million Arts Council lottery funding, for Coventry Arts Alive Festival, and for the New Vic theatre, helping to secure the funds and set up their award winning outreach programme, Borderlines. She is now working for the New Vic again, fundraising for a new annexe to support the education and community programmes. She has also taken responsibility for marketing operations, for example leading the successful establishment of the Drum’s communications strategy and visual identity.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY: Zoe Shearman, Independent Curator

Zoë Shearman is an independent contemporary art curator and consultant based in Bristol. She studied Art History at Camberwell School of Art and Crafts, London, graduating in 1986.

She has 20 years experience of working in the publicly funded contemporary visual arts during which time she has curated over sixty projects and worked with artists from diverse cultural backgrounds. From 1990 to 1994, she was Director of Visual Arts at Riverside Studios, London, and 1999 to 2001, co-Director of Spacex, Exeter.

She has undertaken consultancies in research and development, facilitation, and evaluation, for Arts Council England South West; Holton Lee, Dorset (the National Disability Arts Collection and Archive); St Ives International, Cornwall; Architectural Association, London; Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World, Devon; Plymouth Arts Centre and University of Plymouth.

She has edited eleven publications, written reviews and essays for a-n magazine and Newlyn Art Gallery and has lectured on the Dartington College of Arts/Spacex MA Curating course. She is an independent arts reporter for Arts Council England, South West.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY: Sabra Khan, freelance consultant

Sabra Khan is a freelance consultant and has over 14 years experience in the cultural and media sectors. She has a strong track record of working with companies in the BME sector including managing Nahid Siddiqui & Company, Kokuma Dance Company and SurNandan Ensemble.

She has developed and managed large and small scale projects for PAN Centre for Intercultural Arts, Sampad, Shiva Nova, and ACE Dance and Music.

Her festival experience includes co-ordinating Birmingham ArtsFest, the UK’s largest free arts festival, from 2002 – May 2006, managing two of the most successful events in 2002 and 2003. She has also worked on Fierce! Festival and was a consultant to the Festival of Firsts at the Royal Opera House in 2002, 2005 and 2006 recommending emerging and dynamic companies suitable for their programme.

She has also worked for the BBC on Radio 5 Live’s BME targeted radio programmes Asian Perspective and Word Up!

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY: Gareth Bill

Gareth is a finance professional with a specialism in financing businesses and organisations with a social, environmental or cultural remit. He has made several venture capital investments in these types of businesses and is a director of a number of social businesses. He has assisted hundreds of organisations with business and strategic planning and brings a commercial perspective to the financing of arts organisations and projects.

Gareth has an MBA with a focus on Corporate Social Responsibility from the University of Nottingham, as such he is ideally equipped to assist arts organisations engage with businesses and other stakeholders within the community.