Our Team

Operations & Finance

Arts & Awards

Fundraising & Communications

Outreach & Mentoring

Board of Trustees

  • Sir Richard Heaton (Chair)

    Sir Richard Heaton has been a Trustee of Koestler Arts since 2020, and became our Chair of Trustees in December 2022. He is Warden of Robinson College in the University of Cambridge, a collector of modern and contemporary art, and a former civil servant, serving as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice from 2015 to 2020.

     

    Andrea Rose (Vice Chair)

    Andrea Rose is Former Director of Visual Arts at The British Council. Her first involvement with Koestler Arts came through working with Jeremy Deller at the Venice Biennale in 2013 to exhibit the work of prisoners who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Andrea said, “It was eye-opening to see what this meant – for the artists, for their families, and for the art world in general. I am proud to have joined Koestler as a Trustee since then, and to support their extraordinary work.” Andrea is also Chair of our Arts Steering Group and has been a Trustee since 2014.

     

    Jasmin Booth (Treasurer)

    Jasmin is a business transformation consultant at Capgemini. She works in large-scale technology-enabled change – including with the Ministry of Justice. Jasmin is a lifelong art lover, she is especially passionate about using art to improve mental health. She is a textile artist, working with embroidery and crochet.

     

    Sally Bacon OBE

    Sally has spent her career championing the transformative power of art and is now a writer and consultant working mainly in the voluntary sector across the arts, education, philanthropy and strategy. She was Director of the Clore Duffield Foundation for more than 20 years where she oversaw donations totalling more than £150 million and led the working groups that created the Clore Leadership and Clore Social Leadership programmes. She founded the Cultural Learning Alliance and is now its Co-Chair, and is a board director of FrameWorks UK.

     

    Ariane Bankes

    Ariane Bankes is the niece of Arthur Koestler, founder of the Koestler Trust (now Koestler Arts). After a career in publishing, she became an independent writer, art critic and curator, and is a passionate advocate for the role of the arts in rehabilitation. She was involved in launching the Koestler Arts mentoring programme and was until recently Vice Chair of the charity.

     

    Gary Badley

    Gary is Executive Director of Prison Supply and HM Prison and Probation Service. He is responsible for projects that are delivering 20,000 new additional prison places during the 2020s. Gary has an interest in the arts and the positive rehabilitative impact it can have on the lives of those who are in custody. Gary was appointed a Trustee in 2023.

     

    Tom Campbell

    Tom is Director of Visitor Experience and Operations at London Transport Museum, and Lead Lecturer in Venue Management at BIMM Institute London, a music and creative education college. Prior to that he spent 8 years as Director of Operations and Visitor Services at the Institute of Contemporary Arts and has a 15 year background managing cultural venues and heritage buildings. Tom was appointed a Trustee in 2022.

     

    Carl Hardwick

    Carl Hardwick is Governor of HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Drake Hall in Staffordshire. As a keen advocate of the power of art in custodial settings, Carl is passionate about the work of Koestler Arts and the positive impact it has on both the women he looks after and the UK’s wider prison population. Carl is particularly interested in studio pottery and the art of Middle Eastern textile weaving. He has been a Trustee since 2018.

     

    Nora Laraki

    Nora Laraki is a London-based curator, creative producer and researcher. She has successfully delivered culture, community and art projects for public bodies such as the Goethe-Institut, the European Commission and the German Historical Institute London. She is currently working in Culture Development as part of Medway Council’s Culture team and holds a PhD in Art History from the University of Kent. Nora has been on the Board of Trustees since December 2021 and sits on the arts sub-committee.

     

    Gary Mansfield

    Gary Mansfield was a long-term prisoner when he discovered art. From his cell, he corresponded with some of the biggest names in British contemporary art, who guided him towards a Fine Art degree. Gary is now an artist, curator and host of the ‘Ministry of Arts’ podcast, and has collaborated with many of the artists that once supported him. Gary was appointed as a Trustee in 2019.

     

    Page Nyame-Satterthwaite

    Page Nyame-Satterthwaite is a barrister at 2 Harcourt Buildings, practising in criminal law and public inquiries. Page has served as a trustee of the National Children’s Bureau – for which she was awarded the Dame Helen Alexander ‘Non-Executive Director to Watch’ Award and as a Director of Vocalise, a mentoring programme run by Gray’s Inn for people in prison to learn debating skills mentored by law students.

     

    Carrie Peters

    Carrie is the Director of Justice Services for Ingeus UK. She has worked in and around probation services for 30 years, holding senior leadership roles in Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Trust and across two Community Rehabilitation Companies before joining Ingeus UK in June 2021. Carrie is passionate about developing and leading transformational services that are informed by lived experience.  In her spare time she is a Trustee and actor with a Community Theatre Company in the Midlands and is a strong advocate for the transformative power of the arts. She believes in creating as many opportunities as possible for people to turn their lives around, whilst making our communities safer, better and more inclusive.

Any Questions?

Please don’t hesitate to ask for more information
Get In Touch