Attenborough Arts Centre announces the appointment of five new members to its Advisory Board.

Professor Neil Chakraborti, Destiny Oboh, Zoe Partington, Simon Sansome and Steve Williams have recently joined the Advisory Board of Attenborough Arts Centre following an extensive recruitment process.

Attenborough Arts Centre’s Advisory Board is made up of both University and external members, who together bring a range of lived and professional experiences to help shape the direction of the well-loved cultural organisation. Advisory Board members serve terms of between one and six years on a robust rotation system which that the Board is refreshed on a regular basis and new opportunities are continually created to bring fresh voices into Attenborough Arts Centre’s governance.

Jennifer Francis, Chair of Attenborough Arts Centre, said, ‘We are delighted to welcome our new Advisory Board members, who individually and collectively offer us an impressive breadth and depth of expertise. With our expanded Board, our focus is firmly on the future: delivering on our mission of ‘Art For All’, raising our national profile and driving financial sustainability. Together we will ensure that Attenborough Arts Centre remains responsive, resilient and relevant to its many diverse communities.’

Andrew Fletcher, Director of Attenborough Arts Centre, said, ‘We are looking forward to bringing our new and existing Advisory Board members together with our staff, as we look confidently ahead to our upcoming refurbishment and 30^th birthday in 2027.

‘We would also like to thank the outstanding contributions of recent outgoing members Martyn Edwards, Tara Lopez, Professor Ross Parry and Jackie Perkins, whose terms have recently concluded. Their dedication to the organisation over many years has enabled the success that we enjoy today.’

The new members joining Attenborough Arts Centre’s Advisory Board are:

Professor Neil Chakraborti, a Professor in Criminology at the University of Leicester and Founding Director of both the Institute for Policy and the Centre for Hate Studies. He has published extensively within the fields of hate crime, victimization and community engagement, and has been commissioned by a diverse range of funding bodies including Amnesty International, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Leverhulme Trust to lead research studies which have transformed policy and scholarship. 

Neil is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and series editor of Palgrave Hate Studies. He has received prestigious awards for his work from a variety of sources, including the Royal Television Society, Learning on Screen, the British Society of Criminology, the President’s Award from the University of Leicester and a Hero of Leicestershire Award. He has also held a wide portfolio of advisory positions which have informed policy and practice within organisations such as the Crown Prosecution Service, the Home Office, the Howard League for Penal Reform, the Human Dignity Trust and the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

Destiny Oboh, the elected University of Leicester Students’ Union Arts Lead for the 2026/27 academic year. As President of We Create, the University of Leicester student creatives society, Destiny has led many successful collaborations with Attenborough Arts Centre in recent years. Destiny promotes creativity and collaboration through student engagement opportunities, encouraging participation and supporting students to explore and develop their creativity.

Zoe Partington, an arts leader and a specialist in Disability Art and architecture. She has Co-Directed Disordinary Architecture for 18 years and during this time has worked with Fosters and Partners, University of Leicester Research Centre for Museums and Galleries, Wellcome Trust, V&A, The British Library, DaDa, BBC, The Space, Kew Gardens, Liverpool City Council and many others.

Zoe also has her own artistic practice which is a combination of using technology and a vivid, intuitive palette, her rich use of colour and raw, expressive marks transform the surface into an immersive sensory experience that invites viewers to explore her work and her Disability Art style. She creates audio descriptions of her visual work to enhance the experience with blind audiences and to highlight the barriers blind people experience in arts, culture and heritage. This interest translates into business and strategic consultancy to create a layered experience of what art, creativity and accessibility might mean to us all.

She often develops innovative approaches to accessibility within a social model of disability framework and has been involved in this for over 30 years sitting on the Board of Arts Council West Midlands and other arts organisations. 

Simon Sansome, an award-winning disability advocate, journalist, entrepreneur and Founder and CEO of Snowball, one of the world’s largest disability and accessibility apps. Simon appeared on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, where all five Dragons made him an investment offer. Following the programme, Snowball’s growth accelerated, leading to a major partnership with Google, providing Snowball with access to Google’s technology, expertise and support as it works towards expanding its accessibility platform globally.

Snowball also works with organisations including Transport for London, Barclays, Santander, universities, local authorities, charities and major tourism and leisure organisations, helping improve accessibility while building a unique picture of disabled access. A qualified journalist and graduate of De Montfort University, Simon has also worked in local government, social care and television production. His campaigning and entrepreneurial work has received numerous awards and national recognition, including being named among the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100. Simon regularly speaks about disability, accessibility, technology and entrepreneurship. His mission is summed up by Snowball’s philosophy: “Everyone Deserves Everywhere.” Simon’s goal is to use technology, data and the collective voice of disabled people to create a world where accessibility is expected, understood and built into everyday life — rather than treated as an afterthought.

Steve Williams, the University of Leicester’s Director of Library and Learning Services & University Librarian. Steve leads a diverse portfolio spanning the University library, archives & special collections, digital learning, and research and education support services. A member of the University’s Senate, Senior Leadership Team and Research and Education Committees, Steve also leads the University’s AI and Digital Catalyst programmes.

Throughout his career, Steve has championed the intersection of culture, education, technology and public engagement. Before joining Leicester, he was University Librarian and Head of Libraries and Culture at Swansea University, where his responsibilities included Taliesin Arts Centre and the award-winning Egypt Centre. He also led the delivery of key infrastructure projects, including the £12 million Bay Library on Swansea University’s Bay Campus.

Steve is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and of Leicester’s Institute for Digital Culture. He is currently a trustee and board member of the Museum Data Service, a UK-wide initiative to collect and share object records across UK museum collections, and CILIP, the Chartered Institute for Library and Information Professionals. He has previously served as a trustee and board member at Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru (National Library of Wales) and SCONUL.

Attenborough Arts Centre’s new Advisory Board members join existing members Jennifer Francis (Chair), Emeka Ejiofor, Sonal Joshi, Vishal Joshi and Meera Saujani.

Further information about Attenborough Arts Centre’s Advisory Board can be found here: https://attenborougharts.com/meet-us/