Our Team

Alice has 10 years’ experience in communications and marketing with a focus on developing new audiences for emerging projects. Alice’s background is in the not-for-profit sector. She worked with award-winning not-for-profit members’ club and homelessness charity The House of St Barnabas on their cultural events and communications, and in a similar role for membership organisation and social change think tank the RSA. Alongside her role at LIFT, Alice works freelance as a communications consultant and is currently supporting the Royal Society of Literature as they go through a brand refresh and website rebuild.

Alice is passionate about improving access to arts and culture. At LIFT, this manifests itself in a focus on facilitating access to the festival. This means creating accessible communications channels and content, as well as strategies to enable access for people who face barriers (such as cost), or who traditionally have been excluded from the space.

Amaya Jeyarajah Dent is an experienced creative producer with a specialism in producing work for public space and the outdoors. Recently Amaya has been the UK producer for The Walk, a large-scale international project built around ‘Little Amal’ , a 3.5 metre giant puppet built by the Handspring Puppet Company in South Africa. Amal walked from Syria to the UK as events of welcome unfolded around her and Amaya oversaw the cultural programme here in the UK, leading co-productions across 10 cities nationally. Previously Amaya has worked as the in-house Creative Producer at Emergency Exit Arts, one of the UK’s oldest and leading outdoor community arts organisations. She has also worked extensively with Female led collective Anagram who use cutting edge technologies to create thought-provoking interactive storytelling experiences. Previously Amaya has also worked as a costume stylist and studio manager for bespoke costumier Prangsta. Amaya is a trustee for Outdoor Arts UK , and for Migrateful who run cookery classes led by migrant chefs struggling with integration in the UK,  in order to support their journeys to employment and independence.

Helen has been providing freelance marketing and communications services to clients within the performing and visual arts sectors since 2016, prioritising projects which have strong positive social and ethical ambitions, and aim to empower their audiences.

She specialises in digital marketing, encompassing social media strategy, website management, content creation and design, as well as managing full marketing and press campaigns for tours, festivals and companies. Recent collaborators include Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival, Federation of Scottish Theatre and Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Craft Scotland.

Prior to establishing her own company, Eragona Communications, Helen was Marketing & Communications Manager at the award-winning Jupiter Artland sculpture park, working with Trisha Brown Dance Company on their Edinburgh International Festival performances, as well as launching the inaugural Jupiter Rising art & music festival.

Helen has also held marketing positions at National Museums Scotland, Traverse Theatre, and as a consultant at Arts & Heritage Consultancy BOP Consulting. She guest lectures at Queen Margaret University and is on the Patients Panel for Anthony Nolan.

For the past five years, Joe has primarily worked as a graphic designer, applying a strong focus on print design and publishing in particular. He also has experience of designing, communicating, and marketing new projects and ideas across digital and social formats, while working to deliver various client briefs and projects overtime from initial concept all the way through to final delivery.

Joe has a BA in Magazine Journalism and Publishing from University of the Arts London, and has recently completed an MA study in Communication Design from Norwich University of the Arts. He has previously worked part-time alongside the Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust as a researcher, while also working as a designer on two separate occasions within educational environments to create visual campaigns which have supported young creatives during their transition from university to industry.

Joe loves to engage with people at any level and build strong working relationships with different people and communities, having done so previously in the past through volunteering, designing for fundraising events, and assisting to coordinate public exhibitions and launch events. He is passionate about all things creative and loves to see the impact it causes for people of any background or level of experience. Beyond work, Joe enjoys attending sporting events, visiting exhibitions and art galleries, and cooking at home.

Jo started her fundraising career in a community setting, raising funds to support the provision of free legal aid and advice to low-income and migrant families.  She went on to join the major donor team at international campaigning NGO Global Witness, before heading up fundraising at arts and free expression organisation Free Word, and most recently as Head of Development at The Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick.  She has also worked in a freelance capacity for national and international charities including Macmillan, Maggie’s and Climate Catalyst. LIFT encapsulates her passion for the power of art to transcend borders and create change at individual, community and international levels. She is committed to making the arts accessible for everyone.

Jo Palmer is a Freelance Production Manager and Lighting Designer for Live performance and exhibition. She has managed shows for over a decade for companies such as Split Britches, Action Hero and Cade & Macaskill and toured extensively both nationally and internationally. She consults in Production Management for various companies including The Place, London and also mentors students at a number of academic institutions including The Central School for Speech and Drama.

Her Lighting Design work has most recently been seen as part of No Limits Festival in Hong Kong (Ad Infinitum’s Extraordinary Wall of Silence), the National Theatre of Lisbon (Cade and MacAskill’s The Making of Pinocchio) and the Soho Theatre, London (Sh!t Theatre’s Evita Too).

In 2021 she was nominated for the Evening Standard Future Theatre Fund for her work on Split Britches UXO at the Barbican. In 2022 she was nominated for a Best Lighting Design OFFIE for Beowulf: An Epic Panto and then again in 2023 for Rumpelstiltskin (both for Charles Court Opera).

Her past Production Management and Design for exhibition credits include Enquentro Festival in Montreal and La Mama Gallery space in New York.

Karan is a producer who has focused on creating artistic experiences in public and community realms in India. They bring a wealth of experience in the administrative development of projects that are helmed by artists who create work for and within diverse contexts. From 2017 to 2020, they worked with St+art India Foundation, supporting curating and programming public art festivals across hyper-local neighbourhoods in India. Leading on from this role, they worked as a freelance arts producer from 2020-2022, committed to supporting the creative and administrative development of projects led by local queer artists and organizers. In 2021, they managed ‘Party at the End of Gender Normativity’, a public art project led by After Party Collective, which explored queer and trans futures through the work of artists from the Global South. This work was pivotal in shaping their practice, motivating them to hone a craft of producing that creates space for social, cultural and political enquiries.

Kris Nelson became Artistic Director/CEO of LIFT in 2018. He was Festival Director of Dublin Fringe Festival, Ireland’s largest multi-disciplinary arts festival, from 2013-2017, guiding hundreds of artists towards world premieres. He founded the Canadian performing arts touring agency, Antonym. From 2008-2013, Antonym secured tours and co-productions in over 45 cities on 4 continents for artists such as Theatre Replacement, Public Recordings and 2boys.tv. Kris initiated innovative curatorial platforms like PushOFF (Vancouver) and Spark (Montreal) connecting artists to international touring opportunities. Kris was Encounters Curator for Magnetic North Festival and has been a dramaturg for theatres across Canada.

Laura has been working as a cultural producer and community organiser for over a decade. Her work is founded upon the belief that the arts must be accessible to all, and that this is fundamental to social change, and to ensuring that cities are spaces in which all may thrive.

Laura’s work focuses upon socially-active co-produced arts and cultural projects which navigate spaces for fresh voices in public spaces, structures and practices. She has led programmes and festivals with and within marginalised communities across London and in international locations, including Kampala, Uganda; collaborating with organisations including the British Council, the Big Issue Foundation, Emergency Exit Arts, local authorities, and myriad community groups.

Laura worked in neighbourhood development at the City of London for several years, devising and leading co-produced cultural projects, including Aldgate in Winter which is now a staple of the local calendar. She graduated with a Masters in Art and Politics at Goldsmiths University in 2018, in which she interrogated the intertwined ‘right to the city’ and ‘right to culture’. This reinforced her beliefs, and fuelled her work, as well as her role as a Trustee of Toynbee Hall.

Mariana is a Latinx theatre-maker with vast experience in collaborative and devising methodologies. Her work expands from community and audience development to directing and facilitating. She has led projects nationally and internationally.

In the past, Mariana has worked with theatres like the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Court Theatre,  Donmar Warehouse, Blue Elephant Theatre, Chipping Norton Theatre, Young Vic and Old Vic Theatres.

She is co-director of the award-winning company MarianaMalena Theatre, a channel to amplify female and Latinx stories in the UK. For the past year, Mariana has been leading a project for social integration through theatre-making in the Latinx community in South London.

Noa Bladon is a qualified chartered accountant (ACA) with over 20 years experience working across a variety of industries. After qualifying from KPMG, Noa worked at EMI Music for 8 years, in a variety of finance roles based both in London and Los Angeles. A desire to use her skills and help others at the same time, resulted in a move to Amnesty international.   Since becoming a Mum, Noa has worked as a freelance finance manager, helping charities, arts organisations and small businesses with all their finance needs.   In her spare time, she is a school Governor, loves to ride her Peloton bike and is a scrapbooking and music lover.

Phil works primarily as a theatre director – he is currently artistic director of The Hope Theatre in Islington, and also associate director on the UK & Ireland tour of the Lincoln Center Theater’s production of The King and I. Phil’s own work as director includes the UK premiere of Jen Silverman’s The Moors, and Marie, which won the Scottish Arts Club Bright Spark Award at the Edinburgh Fringe and subsequently toured Scotland with Perth Theatre. Phil was resident director on the UK tour of Matilda the Musical, has delivered outreach and education projects for organisations including The Young Vic, Mountview, and the RSC, and worked as an associate lecturer for the University of Plymouth. He has been Box Office Manager for LIFT Festivals in 2014, 2016, and 2022.

An ex-drama teacher, Tenikah has spent seventeen years involved in arts disciplines with a strong passion for bringing arts and creativity to all. From graduating in BA Theatre and Performance studies and an MA (distinction) in Creative Writing to performing in dance shows and competing in drama competitions.

Recently she took on the role as Festival Director for Surrey New Writers Festival, Guildford. There she had full creative license over the festival and decided to approach the theme from a psychological point of view, exploring how the self can be reflected in ones writing and how ones writing becomes a reflection of the self. Her position as Social Media and Website Manager for the previous year of Surrey New Writers Festival fed her interest in marketing, social media, and communication.

Tom is a theatre nut and admin enthusiast. He founded comedy/theatre mini-festival Attic Arts Club in Crystal Palace, is a company director at production company, Disentangle Projects and has worked in production and admin roles in many places including BAC, Assembly Festivals, WildWorks, imPOSSIBLE Producing and the Norfolk and Norwich Festival.