Our Board
Caroline Thraves • Vice Chair
Caroline Thraves has worked at UWTSD (Swansea College of Art) since 2010 and in post compulsory education since 1999 previously at Coleg Sir Gar. Caroline is currently Head of the School of Fine and Media Arts at UWTSD. Caroline holds a MA in Post Compulsory Education and Training, an MSc in Management and she is a member of the Institute of Knowledge Transfer, The Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors and a Senior Fellow of the HEA. Caroline’s professional and academic career has been within the field of fashion and textiles. Caroline has considerable experience working with industry on knowledge transfer projects and has secured over £2.5 million in EU funding to support the creative industries with innovation, research and development. Caroline’s research interests are in the areas of smart clothing and wearable technologies, CAD/CAM for the apparel industry and developing creativity within SME’s. In 2009, Caroline was a finalist in the Swansea Bay Woman of the Year Awards for her work with SME’s within the Fashion and Textile Industry in Wales. In 2010 Caroline was invited to meet HRH The Queen at Buckingham Palace for her contribution to the British Clothing Industry.
Rebecca Davies • Board Secretary
Christopher Holtom
Chris Holtom has more than 10 years’ experience of developing, securing funding for (in excess of £5m) and managing a range of externally funded projects, including the development of partnerships with national and international organisations, such as the EACEA in Brussels, WEFO and the Welsh Government. Chris’ current role is in UWTSD’s Creative Industries Research and Innovation Centre (CIRIC) as the Funding and Development Manager. In his career, he has extensive experience of managing staff, multi-partner budgets, procurement tenders and working with industry to deliver key outcomes, including job creation and new product development.
Chris has a BA Hons Degree in Interactive Arts from Manchester Met and an MA in Electronic and Temporal Arts from The University of Sydney. His practice is inspired by a broad range of theoretical and artistic influences, with subject matter often situated within sites and localities of ostensible neutrality. Chris’ films, sound pieces and installations have shown in numerous international exhibitions and screening events including, the 2004 International Symposia of Electronic Art (ISEA), The International Media Arts Biennale, in Wroclaw, Poland and most recently at The Three Gorges Museum, Chongqing, China. Chris also received an Artists Development Grant from The Arts Council, England and has shown work in other exhibitions and screenings across Europe, Australasia and North America.
Beverly Phillips
Jonathan Powell
Jonathan Powell is a Swansea based Artist and Curator. He studied at Swansea Metropolitan University, gaining a BA in Fine Art and then an MA in Contemporary Dialogues in 2012. Jonathan has exhibited at Mission Gallery several times through group and solo exhibitions, has delivered engagement projects through Criw Celf West and collaborated on partnerships projects with the Jane Phillips Award. As the Curator and Director of Elysium Gallery Swansea since 2007, Jonathan has been a key force in the city, ensuring the provision of affordable studio space for 100+ artists over three venues in Swansea City Centre, offering a resource while supporting and promoting both emerging and established artists. Jonathan is also the founder and organiser of the Beep Wales International Painting Prize.
Deiniol Richards • Treasurer
Deiniol is a fluent Welsh speaker and a qualified Management Accountant. As a senior finance executive with over 25 years experience of supporting boards, executive teams and employees he has a proven track record of delivering high quality value added analysis and recommendations for business leaders. He is also an experienced change manager who has helped organisations through periods of transformation including centralisation of finance. He has extensive experience of managing projects including major events, procurement tenders and sports rights negotiations.
