Meet the team.

Omeima is a British-Sudanese textile artist, craft maker and independent curator who has exhibited both nationally and internationally, receiving an MBE in 2022 for services to people with disabilities in the Arts.
Omeima was also awarded ‘runner-up’ for the Arab British Centre Award for Culture (individual award) 2019. The Award for Culture celebrates organisations and individuals whose work has significantly contributed to the British public’s understanding of the Arab world over the last two years.
Omeima is a Clore Cultural Leadership Fellow 2019/20, a creative consultant, accessibility consultant and trainer and a leader in creating Deaf and hearing integrated activities, promoting both equity and professional development opportunities.

Kim Waine-Thomas is a craft artist, specialising in handmade embroidery. After a summer of creating headdresses for a production called Lysistrata at Theatre Gwynedd, Kim pursued theatrical hair and make-up at London College of Fashion in 1980s. However, Kim was met with continual barriers to education and the industry. However, Kim continued experimenting creatively where she could.
Kim would gain a BSc degree in Psychology while working as systems operator and analyst. After having kids, she began working with Deaf children part-time, often undertaking artistic work where possible, from murals to theatre sets. Kim continued to experiment with textile art and freehand machine embroidery, with her style changing over the years. Kim is often inspired by nature, environmental responsibility and the D/deaf experience.

Nicole Vivien Watson has over fifteen years of experience working in the arts and holds the position of Executive Director and Founder of Surface Area Dance Theatre – which she established as a Community Interest Company in 2007; under Nicole’s Direction, Surface Area Dance Theatre has joined Arts Council England’s 2023-26 National Portfolio. Nicole’s work is collaborative and produced with leading national and international organisations; The British Council, Arts Council England, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, The Barbican, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. As a dynamic and highly motivated researcher Nicole, in 2021, acquired a rigorous and critical MA scholarship from the School of African and Asian Studies (SOAS) University London — specialising in East Asian Buddhism, Japanese History, and Shogun Iconography. Nicole works best at facilitating creative projects across disciplines by communicating ideas through multiple platforms to all audiences. As an advocate of British Sign Language (BSL) and D/deaf culture, BSL is her second language; supported by the Royal Ballet Benevolent fund, in 2021, she completed five years of accredited Sign Language and Deaf Culture education. Nicole encourages collaboration between the D/deaf and hearing communities and champions the arts as a conduit to establish international relationships with Deaf arts ambassadors in the UK, Japan, Greece, and North America.

Katrina Sophia is a freelance illustrator and product designer with over 10 years of experience. Specialising in watercolour, Katrina produces illustrative designs with attention to detail. Her work, including greeting cards, stationery, and homeware, are sold locally and internationally, both to individual customers and independent shops. Katrina's work is greatly influenced by the natural world, drawing inspiration from her wild garden, growing vegetables, strolls through the countryside, natural history books, and caring for her vast houseplant collection. Katrina has exhibited her work at various craft fairs and tradeshows.

Emma Fearon is an Irish-English curator who also has experience in international programming, art handling, commercial sales, and research. Fearon obtained a degree in Art History and Visual Culture at the University of Exeter as well as a first in her Masters in International Contemporary Art: Business and Curation. Subsequently, interning at Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates, working in both the international programs division and curatorial department and completing a month-long residency in Venice after being selected for the British Fellowship Scheme, working in the British Pavilion at Venice Biennale.
Fearon has curated two exhibitions, with the first being The Art of Signing Hands: A Bilingual Exhibition featuring the work of Nancy Rourke, Louise Stern, Chella Man and participation from the Deaf Academy, Exmouth. This exhibition was showcased on BBC radio as BBC Devon’s first accessible radio show. The second exhibition, I still dream that dream, featuring the work of Khadeeja Hamid, Reezan Simbawa and Agnes Fouda centred on migrant agency in relation to belonging, sacred expression and connection, showing in Venice, as published on Espacio Fronterizo: Journal of Encounters.
As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), my curatorial passion has developed around for D/deaf access routes to art in terms of both physical entry points of experiencing artworks well as comprehension that is rooted in D/deaf cultural understanding.

Zoe Milner was born and raised in Nottingham, profoundly deaf, to a hearing family. They left deaf school, after eleven years, and went straight into mainstream college at Derby College, which challenged them to translate from a smaller deaf society into a larger hearing world, affecting their communication, emotions, and experiences. All of Milner’s childhood life, they were always experimenting with provocative and inspirational typography, inspired by the deaf-related ‘BSL ACT NOW’ campaign, to educate audiences with a wake-call about the reality of the deaf community, highlighting equitable justice and much-needed attention. The use of colour, within contemporary art, highlights the build-up of tension and power as feelings of prejudice, frustration and communication difficulty throughout their journey as a deaf identity.

Damien is a visual artist based in Southend on Sea. In addition to her creative practice she has worked as an arts project manager, business development advisor and researcher. From 1996-2006 she worked in Arts Council England’s education and resource development teams, moving on to become a founder member of the MediaShed where she developed her interest in free-media concepts and socially engaged practice. She has exhibited nationally and internationally as an individual and with collaborative works at Banff NMI, Ars Electronica, Metal, TAP, and Focal Point Gallery. She has undertaken commissions and digital engagement projects for both temporary and permanent works for organisations including Commissions East, Firstsite, Focal Point Gallery, ACAVA, and Space Studios, and as a lead artist for multi-stranded programmes such as Rochford Arts Collector Series. Previously a Creative Partnerships practitioner, she regularly designs and facilitates workshops both for age-specific and intergenerational initiatives in galleries and museums, educational, and community settings.