New Trustees & Chair

With over 15 years of experience in cultural leadership and a passion for fostering community engagement through the arts, Becky has led numerous initiatives that bridge cultural heritage and contemporary creativity.

In her previous roles, including (interim) Director at the People’s History Museum (https://phm.org.uk/) and Head of Audience Experience at Bristol Culture & Creative Industries (https://bristolcreativeindustries.com/), she has demonstrated a keen ability to enhance visitor engagement, diversify revenue streams, and drive organisational growth.

Becky’s leadership is characterised by a commitment to inclusivity, strategic vision, and financial acumen. She has successfully managed multi-disciplinary teams, developed culturally rich programming, and secured significant funding and corporate sponsors. 

Her innovative approach to audience development, exemplified by the successful implementation of targeted marketing strategies and dynamic public programming, has consistently resulted in increased attendance and deeper connections with people.

Becky is dedicated to supporting local artists and creative organisations, ensuring that the arts remain accessible and relevant to diverse audiences. Her strategic mindset and collaborative spirit are invaluable assets in advancing the organisation’s mission of nurturing creativity, fostering community, and enriching the cultural landscape of Bristol.

Ben Lowndes founded Distinctive Communications in 2022, after more than 20 years experience in journalism and public relations. He’s worked in the South West since 2010, firstly for a government body and then in senior agency roles. In that time, he’s supported some of the region’s most high profile and transformative projects, including Hinkley Point C, Gravity smart campus and the £200m regeneration of Gloucester city centre.

An expert in digital engagement and one of just 450 chartered PR practitioners in the UK, he has developed and delivered communication strategies for businesses, housebuilders, local authorities, universities and charities.

When setting up Distinctive, Ben wanted to create a consultancy that’s dedicated to places and makes a positive impact. To that end, the team’s work has helped unlock hundreds of millions of pounds in investment, create thousands of jobs and advance clients’ growth ambitions.

Ele is a Civil and Environmental engineer with a passion for all things innovative.  Specialising in Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), Ele runs ‘elevate’, a specialist consultancy involved in sustainable construction, MMC and construction skills.  She has worked on projects ranging in scale from her own self-build eco-home, to the development of Bristol’s Southmead Hospital, and looks to increase sustainability in our built environment at every opportunity.

Ele’s ambition is to create mixed tenure developments, where sustainable and accelerated construction is a key driver to delivering more affordable homes and community infrastructure.  Ele aims to work with organisations who help to enhance the life chances of local people by not only providing a beautiful place to live, but also providing education, work experience and employment opportunities, placing Social Value at the heart.

She also loves travelling to new places, outdoor pursuits and attending music festivals.

Ele joined Bricks board in December 2020.

Helen is a cultural strategist and fundraiser, working with arts organisations across the UK to build income, develop audiences and evaluate change. Helen is a Senior Consultant at Achates, where she collaborates with galleries, museums and theatres, as well as writing, education and music projects to create strategic research, community consultation, impact evaluation, fundraising strategies and income generating approaches.

Helen also works as a freelance consultant, principally generating income for the Crafts Council to diversify its national Craft Collection, as well as for Bristol-based organisation creativeShift in support of their creative wellbeing programme. Helen is passionate about creating and maintaining accessible and equitable public spaces for creativity, especially in her hometown of Bristol.

James is a Finance Manager and has been working in the charity sector since 2007. He is currently working as a Finance Director (maternity cover) for a charity that supports children in the music industry.

In the past, James has worked for charities that support adults with learning disabilities and young people with cancer, he has also worked for local organisations such as Aardman Animations and Watershed.

In his role at Watershed (also a registered charity) he put together the management accounts, reported on specially funded projects and worked on the year end accounts. His role there was a part of the local cultural economy and is one of the reasons he’s joined Bricks, so he can help support upcoming artists and to keep Bricks sustainable.

Although James has previously been involved in board meetings, being a treasurer is new to him but it’s something he’s wanted to do for a while.

He lives in St Annes and is pleased to supporting a charity close to home.

Jo Lathwood makes sculptures and large scale installations which regularly respond to a particular site, event, material or process.

Her portfolio varies greatly in form, scale, context and method of production, encompassing: temporary and permanent public art, exhibitions curated for galleries and heritage sites (often as the outcome of an artist residency) and studio-based work.  She has worked with Fabrica (Brighton), Trust New Art (the National Trust’s contemporary arts program), Arts Council England, Art, Cities & Landscapes in Amiens, France and Kunst and Zwalm in Belgium. 

In 2012 she co-founded Ore and Ingot, a travelling Bronze foundry and was co- director until 2018.  She is a Council member for Bristol University’s Earth Art Gallery and has been a visiting lecturer at Plymouth and Gloucester Universities.

Jo is Bristolian living in St Annes, she has had studios in numerous locations across the city; and loves to build staircases to mezzanines within them if they are tall enough.

Juliet is a Knowledge Exchange Manager at UWE Bristol, where she runs UWE’s Arts and Humanities Research Council’s, Impact Acceleration Account. She works closely with arts and humanities researchers to build collaborative projects with external, non-academic partners, including charities, businesses, cultural organisations or community partners.

Her background is in the visual arts, before joining UWE, she worked on the programming teams for Spike Island, Arnolfini and Antlers Gallery in Bristol, and Wormfarm Institute in Wisconsin, USA

Juliet lives in St Anne’s and has been working with Bricks since 2019 as part of the St Anne’s Action Group, which was set up prior to Bricks taking on St Anne’s House. She is passionate about the area and in 2020 set up Friends of St Anne’s Park with a couple of other residents and is also part of Woodcroft Community Orchard.

Liam is a solicitor and currently works as an Associate at Osborne Clarke LLP. He specialises in everything company related (buying, selling, investing into) and also advises on all aspects of corporate governance. Liam has also spent time seconded to the in house legal teams of various businesses, helping them manage their business as usual legal risks. 

Liam is (very proudly) originally from Birmingham, but has lived in Bristol (locally to St Anne’s House) for the best part of a decade.  He believes in the power of art and the power of local community which is why he is happy to be on the board of trustees. In his spare time Liam likes to sample local Indian restaurants and be on/near the sea.

Robin Hague is a fundraiser for Creative Youth Network, a charity working with thousands of young people across Bristol and South Gloucestershire, using creativity as a tool to support them to fulfil their potential. Originally a journalist, Robin has also worked in PR and marketing across international broadcast, consumer goods, retail facilities, wellbeing and the environment.

A New Zealander, Robin has seen the real benefits of widening access to arts and culture in his own country and others. He is committed to supporting efforts to engage people in initiatives that use creativity to deepen and enrich community experiences. He also believes permanent space for artists is critical for culture and communities to flourish. Robin is currently involved in his own photography project, using long walks to take pictures of extremely bland scenes, never to be viewed.

Sabita advises and guides philanthropists in their charitable giving for Quartet Community Foundation. She works with a wide range of donors, from corporates to individuals and families, who are committed to making the West of England a place where everyone can thrive. She also volunteers for national grantmaking charity, The Henry Smith Charity, as a Volunteer Visitor. Her role there involves carrying out assessments of grant seekers and recommending grants. 

Prior to entering the grant-making world, Sabita worked in the arts for a creative arts charity in London followed by a theatre and dance festival in Gloucester.

Tarek joined UWE Bristol in 2020 and is Associate Professor of Creative Industries at the School of Arts – College of Arts, Technology and Environment (CATE). He is on the leadership team of the Digital Cultures Research Centre, and an active member of the Screen Industries Research Group and Creative Economies Lab.

His research interests in the creative industries includes: Organisational resilience, urban and cultural policy, creative and cultural ecosystems, post-creative cities, culture-led regeneration and cultural districts, creative and cultural hubs and international dimensions of creative and cultural work and policy. Previously he was Deputy Director of Network: Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for the Creative and Cultural Economy.

Tarek has done work for a number of local, national and international organisations including research institutions, governments and other stakeholders. He is also on the Board of Trustees for Acme Studios and is a fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). 

Trish Brown is Operations Director at St George’s Bristol, where she oversees partnership working, customer service operations, income generation and facilities management.

She was previously Head of Production for Serious, producing the EFG London Jazz Festival and their national touring work. She is currently a trustee of Circomedia, on the advisory board for Bristol City Centre BID, and in her spare time she plays rugby for Bath Rugby Ladies and goes cold water swimming