Ayaan is pretty much the fixer and go-getter at OSE. She is in charge of organising and running the Despacito Art School, audience development and community outreach for OSE, working as a facilitator for artists on OSE commissions and supporting the Associates with their public programming events. When she is not at OSE, she spends her time raising her daughter to be a phenomenal adult, she attends events with her Hip Hop Photo Booth and runs the social media accounts of various people and organisations.

Mark teaches and supports on the Young Associates Programme, helping to deliver the Creative Careers module, which is designed to enable the young people to find confidence in their abilities and help them move forward on their chosen paths. The module has a strong focus on developing communication and literacy skills and instilling a greater understanding and awareness of planning and budgeting for a creative life. Mark is a practicing artist working with painting, sculpture, print and photography. When not teaching at OSE, he can be found working from his studio in Broadstairs.

Elissa oversees the development and running of the Young Associates Programme to strengthen its place in the community. By focusing on high quality, inclusive art education, the course supports and develops real life opportunities for the Young Associates. Elissa is a fine art photographer and lecturer with a background in building and managing educational courses at Further Education colleges. Working on photography commissions has enriched her love of travel and adventure. Closer to home, she is continuing to work on a series of portraits for Margate Pride.

Carla teaches on the design module of the Young Associates Programme. She helps the Young Associates develop their cultural and societal awareness by forging connections between the community and helping them gain local creative opportunities. She has taken part in Creative Climate Leadership training with Julie’s Bicycle and has training in education, mental health, and wellbeing support. Carla has worked as senior designer for Vivienne Westwood VWMAN, is a published member of Margate Queer Writers and has worked charitable organisations to support young people within the Queer community via BeYou and young people suffering with anxiety via Porchlight.

Laura’s background is in art and design teaching in secondary schools and before OSE, running community education projects with Create London including Rabbits Road Press, in East London. Having set up the Young Associates Programme in 2019, Laura continues to support the programme and the Young Associates as Creative Tutor.

Louis deals with marketing and communication. His days at OSE usually include editing and publishing content for digital and physical distribution, and ensuring that all information is accessible for a wide audience base. Louis is also in charge of documenting OSE’s events. While not at OSE, Louis composes and produces music and sound works for solo projects, films, and podcasts.

Eni has designed and developed education, employment and training programmes across the charity sector with a focus on serving marginalised / underrepresented communities. At OSE, Eni manages the operations, fundraising and finance, supporting the Director and the Board on strategy and delivery of the vision. Outside of work, she is involved in projects facilitating equity in food.