Pelin Başaran is a curator, producer and cultural leader working across contemporary performance, internationalism and artistic freedom. She is Artistic Director of LIFT and Creative Director at Battersea Arts Centre (BAC). 

Since joining 2021, Pelin has brought a distinctive artistic identity to BAC rooted in experimentation, internationalism, and engagement with the political and social questions of our time. She has shaped BAC’s creative strategy and expanded BAC’s programme, bringing leading international artists including Florentina Holzinger, Back to Back Theatre, Miet Warlop and Tiago Rodrigues to London. Pelin has also developed longer-term pathways, commissioning models and partnerships for UK based artists to create, present and take their work nationally and internationally. Her work has contributed to BAC becoming recognised as a key London home for international contemporary performance, winning The Stage International Award in 2024. 

Başaran began her career in Istanbul as part of the founding team of garajistanbul, one of the city’s key spaces for contemporary performance. In 2011, she founded PARC, an independent organisation for artistic research, production and presentation, building international collaborations and creating new possibilities for independent practice in Turkey. She also found and co-directed Siyah Bant – Freedom of Expression in the Arts, a research and advocacy platform documenting censorship and defending artistic freedom. After an extensive career in Istanbul, she moved to the UK, working at Contact in Manchester before joining BAC. 

Over more than two decades, Başaran has built spaces, programmes and international networks that give artists opportunities to take risks. Her work champions experimental performance, marginalised voices and artists working beyond established forms, driven by a belief in culture’s capacity to open up new ways of imagining how we might live together. 

Laura McDermott has worked at cultural venues and festivals across the UK, including: BAC (Battersea Arts Centre), Fierce Festival, Situations, Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts and London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT). She is an experienced executive producer, curator and director,  working across artforms but specialising in performance, particularly site-specific work and public art. Laura is committed to equity, sustainability and internationalism.

Shaun Evelyn leads marketing for LIFT as it enters its new Battersea Arts Centre era. His work is focused on reintroducing LIFT to London and deepening its relationships with audiences and partners.

Before this, he led communications for Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, shaping its new voice and look, growing its audiences and making GDIF an increasingly visible and vital part of London’s cultural conversation. Before that, Shaun drove the international marketing campaign for The Walk, helping establish Little Amal as a globally recognised symbol of hope and human rights. He worked with arts, humanitarian and civic organisations across Europe to engage millions in live audiences, in classrooms and online. He was behind what The New York Times called “a savvy social media campaign” that created what Time Out described as a “whole buzzing community”. Shaun also helped launch the Amal Fund which has raised more than $1m for organisations supporting refugees. Along the way he’s worked with See Tickets, Omnibus Theatre, A Younger Theatre, Gay Times, Soho Theatre and Underbelly Festival.

Fourth Wall PR is an award-winning arts and culture consultancy delivering strategic, high-impact campaigns across theatre, festivals, exhibitions, and live events. Founded and led by former journalist Diana Whitehead, the agency collaborates with a diverse range of leading producers, directors, playwrights, and artists across the commercial and subsidised sectors. Since 2016, Fourth Wall PR has built an exceptional track record for securing major national media coverage while remaining deeply committed to grassroots engagement and under-represented communities. The Stage Awards 2025 & 2026 Campaign of the Year.  http://www.fourthwallpr.co.uk