Who We Are
The Gallery team is small and dedicated. Combined, we have well over a century of expertise and experience in the fields of visual art and mental health.
Amanda is responsible for developing the Gallery’s studio programme and facilitating studio workshops. She also provides artists with professional development opportunities and peer support sessions, through workshops and exhibitions.
Amanda has worked in mental health services for ten years providing support for inpatient and community services and developing an understanding of the importance of arts and mental health. Amanda has a degree in Fine Art from Central St Martins University and worked as a commercial sculptor from 1991 with clients including the Royal Opera House and Harrods.
Amisha is responsible for establishing the Gallery’s collection, the Peter Sowerby Collection. Amisha is a doctoral researcher at the University of Leicester and Oxford University Museums with interests in the use and management of museum collections, workforce development, health and wellbeing. She is currently a Trustee at Collections Trust and the Beecroft Bequest. Her previous roles include: Fundraising & Partnerships Manager at Bethlem Gallery & Museum of Mind; Head of Collection & Programmes at Paintings in Hospitals; Exhibitions & Collections Manager at the University of Hertfordshire.
Ed supports front of house volunteers on Saturdays and provides assistance to the gallery through facilitating artist workshops, installing exhibitions and collaborating with artists on off-site commissions.
Ed holds a BA in Fine Art Painting from Camberwell College of Arts (2021) and is a practicing artist and musician.
Heather works to implement the Gallery’s digital and marketing and strategies including the website, newsletter and social media in order to maximise awareness of our work. She has over ten years of experience in digital marketing with previous roles including work for the Arts Council Collection, South London Gallery and Goldsmiths, UoL and has a Master of Fine Arts degree in Art Writing from Goldsmiths, UoL.
Isobel supports workshop and studio activity, gallery operations, office organisation and admin, art sales and evaluation. Her arts background is in Graphic Design and illustration, she has an MA in Art and Social Practice and has run projects and workshops with museums, a youth offending service and environmental campaign groups.
Michelle is responsible for recruiting and taking care of the museum and gallery’s incredible team of volunteers. She also oversees all things front of house, including our brilliant museum and gallery shop selling a unique variety of books, gifts and local artworks.
Having graduated with a B.A. in French and Italian, and an M.A. in Literary Translation, Michelle also works as a freelance translator for a film news agency promoting independent European cinema.
Sophie has responsibility for overseeing the gallery’s current and future activity, strategies and programmes. A curator by training, her previous roles include working at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Freud Museum. She is a Clore Fellow 2017/18, Museums Association associate, PhD student, school governor and fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Trustees
Ashokkumar Mistry is a multidisciplinary artist, writer and curator working in the UK and internationally. As a practicing artist, Ashokkumar harnesses his neurodivergence to create artworks across visual art and performance. He has been focused on researching and writing about disability and neurodiversity. His writing encompasses direct research and personal experiences relating to neurodiversity with a view to sharing experiences and changing attitudes.
Jessie Hunt has a background in campaigning, marketing and digital for major charities, not-for-profits and arts organisations like Tate, the V&A, the British Museum, Whitechapel Gallery and Friends of the Earth. She is passionate about art, mental health, the environment and social justice. Jessie experienced postpartum psychosis ‘out of the blue’ in 2013, two weeks after the birth of her baby, and was treated at the Bethlem Royal Hospital’s Mother and Baby Unit. Alongside her consultancy projects, Jessie works with the charity Action on Postpartum Psychosis, helping to raise awareness of the illness through the media by supporting women and families in sharing their stories. In her spare time, she loves walking her dogs and enjoys a good cup of tea. www.jessiehunt.com
Kate Morris is currently Finance Director at Morden College. Formerly Director of Finance & Resources at the charity Volunteering Matters, Kate has extensive experience as a leader in the voluntary sector and a finance professional. She is a qualified accountant, an associate member of CIMA. Kate is also a trustee of Drinkaware.
Dr. Neil Springham is the executive director of therapies at Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust where he also leads patient experience and service user and carer involvement. He trained in art therapy in 1988 and has worked in adult mental health, addictions and services for people diagnosed with personality disorder. He was a course leader at the Unit of Psychotherapeutic Studies, Goldsmiths College, co-founded the Art Therapy Practice Research Network and was twice elected chair of British Association of Art Therapists. He has a PhD in Psychology and has published and lectured internationally on a wide range of issues in art therapy, mentalization, co-production and Experience Based Co-design.
Shamita Sharmacharja is a curator at Wellcome Collection, a free museum and library that aims to challenge how we think and feel about health. Shamita works on the temporary exhibitions programme and has curated shows on subjects as diverse as play, forensic medicine and health-centred graphic design. She also curated Souzou; a major exhibition of artworks made by artists resident within a range of healthcare settings in Japan. Previous to her role at Wellcome Collection, Shamita worked at the Whitechapel Gallery and Tate Modern.
Dr Shubulade Smith CBE is a consultant psychiatrist and clinical director for forensic services at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. She is also a senior lecturer at Kings College London. Dr Smith is known nationally and internationally for her work in the hormonal and reproductive effects of antipsychotic medications. Her research interests include advancing mental health equality; Black mental health; intensive care and emergency psychiatry; side effects of psychotropic medications; physical health in SMI (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other psychotic disorders); women’s mental health and Mental Health Law.
Sonia Solicari is Director of the Museum of the Home in London, where she recently oversaw a major redevelopment project to double public space and introduced a vision which centres creative practice for social change. She is currently co-director of the Centre for Studies of Home, a partnership with Queen Mary, University of London and an international hub for research on the home, past, present and future.
Sonia has previously held roles at Guildhall Art Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum.