Foka Wolf
Subversive street artist Foka Wolf has been pasting their art on the streets for over a decade. Their subject matter ranges from cartoons to celebrities, gory heads to thumbs up, but their most recognisable works are their joke adverts.
Foka’s advertising agency has covered subjects including forehead extension and rent-a-curse, tackling both comedy and serious social and political commentary.
Their work has been featured in the Metro, Time Out and BBC News, amongst many others.
Felicity Hayward
Felicity is a British curve model, social media influencer and activist, who has quickly become one of the most recognised curve models in the fashion industry and she is renowned for breaking barriers in the beauty and fashion industry with not only her stellar looks but her fearless personality.
As an early pioneer of the plus-size industry in the UK, she became a trailblazer in pushing for change within in the fashion industry through her ground-breaking collaborations with a multitude of world-renowned fashion brands. With an I-D cover under her belt, a Mac Cosmetics campaign, face to Loreal and Katy Perry’s INDI fragrance to name a few even when “curve” wasn’t popular, she has used these editorials to gain momentum on her social platforms to promote body confidence and self-love in a world full of one type of body image ideal.
This experience inspired her digital campaign and body positive movement #selflovebringsbeauty, which promotes self-love, diversity, confidence and acceptance in the fashion industry for everyone. When asked why Felicity created the brand, she says she “wanted to create something for everyone, to view beauty from your perspective, not the media’s view on body image and worth”.
Levi Washington
Levi plays a large variety of styles of music and likes to incorporate flavours from all his favourite genres. He’s known in Leamington as a one-man band who incorporates two loop pedals, a drum pad, a keyboard, two guitars, harmonicas while doing his own backing vocals and more all at the same time!
Last summer in addition to performing at bars and restaurants all over the Midlands, Levi was invited to support Tom Clarke of The Enemy on the first show of his acoustic UK tour and has just been booked to support John Power of The La’s and Cast in November!
Along with his passion for music, Levi has also been involved for a number of years in youth work and mentoring for young people. He is part of an organisation called Sync Education that provides musical therapy and confidence building to help positive changes in the lives of the young people they work with.
Rob Lawrie
Watching people talk about helping those in refugee camps, but doing nothing, drove him to sell his business. He invested the money to bring what little help he could to the most vulnerable child refugees in those camps. It wasn’t for this that Rob made headlines around the world: it was the snap decision he made agreeing to break the law to help rescue a little girl from her squalid suffering and take her to relatives in Leeds. This saw Rob arrested at the British border and charged with human trafficking.
Fortunately, when, in January 2016, he appeared in a French court, he was shown leniency by the judge. The media attention generated awareness of plight of child refugees and Rob used this to expose the lack of humanity shown by Governments across Europe to these innocent victims. Today, long after the dust has settled on his individual story, the problems still persist for thousands of child refugees and Rob still works tirelessly on their behalf. In addition to the time spent in camps, Rob fundraises to buy the basic human necessities for the children, lobbies to hold Governments to account, educates young people on the dangers faced by child refugees and highlights what we’re all able to do to help.
Rob’s story is currently being adapted into a Hollywood film that will bring the pain and suffering of refugees to the wider audience.
Bobby Friction
Bobby is world renowned for his specialist knowledge of British Asian Music & South Asian music from the Indian/Pakistani subcontinent. As a DJ for nearly 20 years, he’s preached the Desi Music gospel across the continents as well as written about it extensively. He’s also a highly accomplished, award-winning broadcaster and documentary maker who specialises in Music, Politics, & Society.
Bobby began his multi award-winning broadcast career when he joined BBC Radio 1 in 2002. Since then, he’s presented various shows on Radio 1 and the BBC Asian Network including the nightly show ‘Friction’, which was seen by many worldwide as ‘the definitive’ Asian music show. You’ll now find Bobby presenting his own Drivetime show that broadcasts five nights a week and covers culture, art, showbiz, film and, of course, lots of music. Bobby has also made numerous documentaries for Radio 1, Radio 4 & the Asian Network over the years covering topics such as the Arabic Walt Disney, Amir Khan the Boxer, Rock music in India & British Asian’s in Prison.
Somehow, in addition to all of this, Bobby has also found the time for lots of TV work across various channels covering a myriad of topics as well as writing for many publications on British Asian culture & music including a monthly column in Rolling Stone Magazine, India and NME.
Ash Palmisciano
Ash is an actor, writer and presenter, who in 2018, landed the ground-breaking role of Matty Barton, the first ever transgender character on ITV’s Emmerdale. This quickly saw him earn Inside Soap‘s 2018 ‘Best Newcomer’ award, he is now one of the Emmerdale’s established regular characters and is delighted to have become a positive role model to others.
The path to Emmerdale began several years ago when Ash realised that he needed to be true to himself and decided to pursue his real ambition of becoming an actor (something he had previously been told by a careers adviser wouldn’t be achievable!). The first step was summer acting classes at the Central School of speech and drama. After gaining some confidence in his own abilties, he landed his first TV role in romantic comedy Boy Meets Girl on BBC2 (2016). Ash then took to the stage at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in their production of King Lear, which he did while also juggling his front of house job.
With his new-found creative side coming alive, he started writing and, after a few successful online spoken word pieces, he was selected to write and voice a piece called ‘The Lady that Dances’, which aired on Channel Four earlier last year. Ash is now set on using his hard-earned platform to make a positive difference in our society and recently became a judge for the National Diversity Awards.
Lee Towersey
Lee is a droid builder and operator who has worked across the Star Wars franchise since 2013.
A long-time member of the R2-D2 Builders Club, his journey from ‘fan’ to ‘film crew’ began at the Star Wars Celebration convention in Essen, Germany where, while showcasing their R2-D2 replicas to fellow fans and members of the public, the builders engaged in a conversation with Lucasfilm President, Kathleen Kennedy, about their work.
A few months later, Lee and fellow fan Oliver Steeples were contacted on Kennedy’s recommendation and they were subsequently hired to develop R2-D2 and other droid props for Star Wars: The Force Awakens as part of the film’s creature effects team. Lee returned for subsequent Star Wars film instalments and has worked as a droid operator on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Solo: A Star Wars Story and is currently involved with Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker.
After his childhood love of Lego and remote-control cars led him to Hollywood, Lee actively exhibits and demonstrates his creations to help encourage the next generation of engineers.
Karl Drage
Karl has established a number of leading Renewables businesses in the UK, Europe and the US at the forefront of Smart, Cleantech, Digital, Renewable Heat, with a particular focus on the “Heat as a Service” business model. Over a decade and a half and more than £40m in equity and project finance, he has overseen teams that have installed more than 5,000 Renewable Heat Systems including some of the largest and most innovative renewable heat schemes in the World.
A Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, experienced at achieving growth, leading innovation, digital disruption, business change and mergers and acquisitions. Karl has worked in Engineering and Technology in Germany, Japan, Spain, and the US, as well as founding companies in the UK and Europe. One of his businesses was shortlisted as Clean Tech Startup of the Year 2017. He created a technology start-up exemplared by Bill Gates at the Consumer Electronics Show and established a business in the US which won the contract for the Empire State Building’s new energy system.
Ellie Gowers
Ellie is certainly not new to the local music scene, quietly brewing her self-penned songs in folks clubs for a while. She has been regularly performing music that embeds a fierce energy that echoes that of the 60’s folk revival scene and although she may be small, Ellie manages to hold pride of place on stage with her strong vocals.
Her songs are built through an early love of literature and traditional folk music as well as the notable observations she makes on the zeitgeist narrative of today’s society. She has garnered support slots with critically acclaimed artists up and down the UK, enticing watchers with her poetic lyrics and rhythmic guitar playing.
Richard Fry
Richard is an artist, writer and performer. He has just performed his 8th solo show, O Starry Night, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to much critical acclaim. Previous shows Bully, Smiler and The Ballad of the Unbeatable Hearts have toured internationally and saw Fry shortlisted for the Amnesty International ‘Freedom of Expression’ Award and the prestigious ‘Peace Trust’ Award in Australia. A feature film of Bully goes into production in America next year.
A previous show, Ex Child Genius, is re-emerging as a lo-fi B-movie with Fry in the lead role. It will be his first film role in 10 years after playing a cop hot on the trail of a psychopath schoolgirl alongside Spice Girl, Mel B.
Away from performing, Fry runs a successful art publishing company and has built a following designing supercool enamel pin badges.
Emma Gunn
Emma is the author of three foraging books published under the title Never Mind the Burdocks.
Born in Canada, she came to England when she was 3 then to Singapore from 7-11 years old. Her love of plants started at an early age and, when she was 11, she taught herself about hedgerow medicines, then from 14 she became fascinated by edible plants. Emma trained as a garden designer at Pershore College with Chris Beardshaw as her design lecturer and after graduating she headed to Cornwall to her paternal roots where she joined the Eden Project 21 years ago. Her jobs at Eden have ranged from propagation, draughtsman, guide, skilled horticulturist to seasonal displays supervisor. In her spare time Emma runs foraging walks, talks, masterclasses and forage and feast sessions as well as doing garden design and is a Mum to a bright 4-year old budding forager.
Her mission is to educate people in a better understanding of nature, survival and how we can protect nature and ourselves for the future. “The more we understand the better equipped we are. With such a plethora of food and flavours on our doorstep, let’s get outside and explore!”
Find the Never Mind the Burdocks series of seasonal foraging books here: www.nevermindtheburdocks.co.uk/bookshop
Andrew Pain
Having lived and worked in El Salvador, Mexico and France, Andrew is now based in the UK where he is running his own leadership development business, which helps people to fulfil their unique potential. He serves people at all levels of society from ex-offenders to sixth form students in schools and colleges, to business leaders in corporate organisations and successful entrepreneurs.
Andrew divides his time between his own business and a homelessness prevention charity based in Birmingham, where he is responsible for developing the skills of those furthest from the job market, including people struggling with mental health issues, substance abuse, poverty and social isolation. Andrew’s passion is to see people who are written off by society, to grow in confidence, develop their business skills and secure paid employment.
In his spare time, Andrew runs a support group (MenSpace) for men experiencing domestic abuse and is a dad to 5 children.
InkyLinesPlots (aka John Proudlock)
Four years ago, John was drawn into a ‘weekend project’ that even today is a long way from anything that could be described as a conclusion. The project was simply to build a primitive drawing machine and write some software to bring it to life. Having done this, he found that the hard part was working out what it should draw.
By accident, he found generative art.
Today, John continues to explore what can be achieved by generative art, which leads to some impressive results (along with the occasional miss every now and again).
Marianne Power
Marianne is a writer and freelance journalist who lives in London. Her first book, Help Me!, is about her attempt to sort her life out by following the rules of a different self-help book every month for a year. The book has been translated into 25 languages and has been optioned for television.
Nichola Enoch
Nicola, recognised as the 2017 Citizen of the Year at Pride of Warwick Awards and Inspirational Person by the Coventry Telegraph, runs the well-respected and highly successful charity, The Ups of Downs. Her journey began on 17 August 2004, the day after her son, Tom, was born and the day on which a Paediatrician shared their ‘concern’ that Tom may have Down Syndrome (DS).
Alongside all the brilliant moments she’s had as Tom’s Mum, she’s also been a powerful and relentless advocate in challenging the fear and ignorance that surrounds DS, the need for greater support for the families of young people with DS and ensuring that those young people have every possible opportunity to flourish.
Her ultimate goal is for everyone to understand the reality of a life with DS so that a diagnosis need not generate the level of concern and negativity it did for that Paediatrician back in 2004.
Alfie Amadeus
Alfie Amadeus is a percussive acoustic guitarist, currently based in Warwickshire. He experiments with percussive techniques and digital effects to create rich textures and rhythmically complex pieces. Frequently performing in pubs and bars in the UK (and previously Shanghai, where he lived as an expat for two years), he has evolved from playing acoustic covers to writing his own original songs. He is currently recording a set of videos to be released as an EP.