From 2019 – 2021 Inc Arts was headed by Founder Amanda Parker FRSA, who grew the organisation from a sole trader enterprise to an award-winning team of 20 staff and freelancers.
Inc Arts ceased trading in July 2022, under the leadership of Interim Director Kenneth Tharp and Chair Anand Bhatt.
Ailin is a Japanese-American director with a passion for daring new works of theatre that engage audiences with untold and under-told stories in a visual, visceral way. Her Colchester-based physical company, Theatre Témoin, is a 1ºEast Portfolio, Lowry ‘Developed With’, and Without Walls Portfolio company, and has worked in collaboration with The Salisbury Playhouse, Ovalhouse, Roundhouse, GDIF, and others.
Ailin is a board member of Stage Directors UK and the Directors Charitable Foundation, a delegate member of Artistic Directors of the Future, and a core member of Migrants in Theatre.
Anand Bhatt is a dance enthusiast and producer from Leicester . With an interest in all things Michael Jackson and Bollywood, he stumbled upon contemporary dance in 2007 when he was dancing in a Kathak show along with dancer Aakash Odedra. As Aakash and Anand found their creative talks and dreams aligned, the clearer it also became that Anand was not in fact a dancer. He started to help out Aakash with his shows, and ended up as his producer. Their first project ‘Rising’ featured commissions by Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Russell Maliphant.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Anand developed the Shiamak UK operations to 14 sites across 6 English regions with 1000-people attending per week. At Dance City Anand became Artistic Director and Chief Executive in 2020. Anand was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list in 2021 for services to Dance and Community.
Over the last decade, Jiten’s work has focussed on pioneering new ground-breaking arts festivals and cultural interventions. As a Director of a small social enterprise, he has had the opportunity to work across a breadth of roles, namely, a Creative Producer, Strategic Partnerships Manager and Festival Director.
He started his journey in 2011 when establishing Inspirate. Since then, he has led one of the UK’s most exciting contemporary South Asian arts festivals, An Indian Summer, established Bring The Paint festival with Graffwerk, and is now working towards cementing Inspirate’s position as a pioneering cultural beacon in the Midlands.
He is also a Clore graduate having completed the Short Course. These experiences in particular have helped him to propel his aspirations as a young South Asian cultural entrepreneur.
Leo Wan is an actor and arts campaigner. As an actor, he has worked with The National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s Globe and New Earth Theatre. He works with a number of campaigns to ensure the performing arts is diverse, equitable and accessible. He sits on Equity’s Race Equality Committee and the Board of Northern Broadsides.
Omeima is a British-Sudanese combined textile artist, Crafts Maker and Independent Curator who has exhibited both nationally and internationally and received the runner-up prize for the Arab British Centre Award for Culture 2019 (individual award).
In 2018 Omeima was commissioned by Artichoke to work with local communities in Brighton bringing deaf and hearing women together to create a banner that took part in the PROCESSIONS event to mark the centenary of women’s right to vote in the UK.
Omeima is a 2019/20 Clore Cultural Leadership Fellow, Creative Consultant, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Accessibility Consultant and Trainer and a leader in creating Deaf and Hard of Hearing integrated activities that promotes both equity and professional development opportunities.