ArtsEd appoints six new trustees

From left, top row: Abbas Kazmi, Adam Cross and Aimée Henderson.  Bottom row: Huw Davies, Marion Afoakwa and Albert Read.

The appointments come as the Chiswick performing arts institution launches a new Strategic Plan and refreshes its leadership team

ArtsEd has appointed six new trustees as the Chiswick based performing arts institution enters a new phase under Principal Professor Louise Jackson.

The appointments, which took effect on 1 September, are part of a wider programme of change that also includes a new Strategic Plan and a refreshed set of organisational values.

READ ALSO: ArtsEd puts on a special performance of Our Town for Chiswick residents

The new trustees are Marion Afoakwa, Adam Cross, Huw Davies, Aimée Henderson, Abbas Kazmi and Albert Read. They bring experience across education, finance, entrepreneurship, media, human resources, arts management and governance.

Among them are former Conservative Party Chief Operating Officer Aimée Henderson, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra executive Huw Davies and former Condé Nast Britain Managing Director Albert Read.

Professor Jackson said the appointments were: “another important step in ArtsEd’s evolution”, adding that the new trustees would help the organisation broaden access to its training and prepare the next generation of artists and creative leaders.

The changes follow Jackson’s appointment as Principal in July 2025 and the recent appointments of Adam Davenport as Dean of Higher Education and Catriona Guthrie as Director of Enterprise and External Engagement.

ArtsEd has come through a rough period during which two principals have had to resign – one for presiding over an overly sexualised environment, the other for bullying, so the new Principal is very firmly drawing a line and opening a new chapter.

“What I hope for the next few years is that it will continue in its strong position and become a bigger brand in the performing arts”

Albert Read, photograph Mike Trow

Albert Read, who spent 20 years with Condé Nast launching businesses in Asia, has “always hovered between art and commerce”, he told The Chiswick Calendar, in a company which excels in all aspects of creative story telling.

Being an ArtsEd trustee combines a number of his interests. Though he is a west Londoner and lives in Brook Green, he told me he had not been aware of ArtsEd.

“What I hope for the next few years is that it will continue in its strong position and become a bigger brand in the performing arts. The awareness of ArtsEd needs to grow. There is potential to reach out to the Chiswick community more and build deeper roots in the community”.

They are making a start by putting on a special performance of a show just for members of the local community, which is something they have never done before.

READ ALSO: ArtsEd puts on a special performance of Our Town for Chiswick residents

I asked Albert what steps they had taken to safeguard the students and how he saw his role as a trustee in that regard.

“You can’t be in every class monitoring every detail but you can assess character and ask the right questions. It is the role of a trustee to question and probe and hold to account.

“The focus is now very much on safegaurding. That has all been addressed, the right safeguards are in place and it is going in a good direction. Everything is being done that should be done. I have pretty good antennae for these things and I am a big fan of Louise’s. She has the right combination of cheeriness and toughness to take it forward”.

ArtsEd regularly scores top marks from the Independent Schools Inspectorate and their BA students land plum roles in West End musicals, film and television. The schools – day school, BA courses and part time community courses – share the best facilities with the Andrew Lloyd Webber theatre and they have teachers with a huge amount of experience in the creative industries.

“I believe in the importance of creativity”, said Albert. “In terms of personal fulfilment, at a community level bringing people together, at a society level and at an economic level, and I am honoured to play a part”.