George McDonagh
StoryMapper, Newport (Wales)
George was born in Newport and began his audio journey at the local community radio station. His experience includes the award winning podcast ‘Power Corrupts’. With over 2.5 million downloads and listeners in more than 100 countries, it has been described as “intelligently written, [has] masterful storytelling, and a wide variety of stories (…) that are well researched and presented.”
Grace Gelder
StoryMapper, Wolverhampton
Just before the pandemic started Grace did an artist residency at a fine art university in Surat, India. Her personal project, ‘Belongings’, explored the ancestral stories of the local community by inviting people to share their family heirlooms with; these objects became a vehicle for stories. The final work was made into a book and exhibited in India in February 2020 and soon in the UK. She has also worked on a community photography project for the Greater London Authority where young people celebrated their youth workers by taking portraits of them.
Jabbar Jay Younes
TrailMaker, Slough
Jay Bedwani
TrailMaker, Swansea (Wales)
Jay completed his first documentary feature, ‘DONNA’ in 2021. It is about an elderly transgender performer in San Francisco, and her reconnection with her siblings. He is currently teaching documentary film at Media Academy Cymru, and enjoys working with young people in this role. He is also a mentor with Ffilm Cymru, guiding documentary makers who are developing their first short film. He is most proud of the film ‘OVERSHARE’ which he made with influencers Rose and Rosie, where they travelled around the UK hearing stories from the LGBTQ community. The film really resonated with young people who may be coming to terms with their sexuality.
Kenya Scarlett
StoryMapper, Slough
Kenya was an Audio editor for ‘A Brief History of Stuff’ by The Science Museum Group and Storythings. They are also the founder of a social enterprise called ‘Understanding Each Other’ which helped bring awareness to mental health through clothing and meetups.
Lucinda Rouse
StoryMapper, Swindon
Lucinda has worked as a freelance audio, print and online journalist in West Africa from September 2017 – November 2021. In 2021, she spent a week in the Liberian rainforest reporting on hunters who supply the growing transnational trade of pangolin scales, to understand their living conditions and motivations for participating in this illegal activity.
Lucy Fulford
TrailMaker, Bristol
Lucy moved to Bristol in 2008 for her undergraduate degree and immediately fell in love with the city. She is interested in hidden histories and untold stories that focus on testimony. She is currently working on long-form writing, photography and film exploring the experiences of Ugandan Asian refugees who were exiled to the UK 50 years ago. Other works include producing films and writing for NGOs including Save the Children and Comic Relief.
Marcus Smith
StoryMapper, Bristol
Marcus enjoys the pursuit of a creative life and career. He has recently made his film directorial debut and has also been producing and presenting audio content for BBC Radio 4, AHRC, The British Library and more. He is excited to be part of the StoryTrails project to learn and create with a talented and experienced team of creatives.
Michelle Hudson
TrailMaker, Lewisham (London)
Michelle has mentored theatre makers in developing digital practises and using mobile technology in their own work. Recent projects include ‘Manimals’, an autobiographically-inspired one-woman show about loneliness, dating and the struggle to connect in the digital age. Manimals was her first solo show, and it launched her career as a multimedia performance artist.
Mohamad Miah
TrailMaker, Newport (Wales)
Over the past 2 years, Mohamad has produced 5 podcast series. Ranging on topics of youth and advocacy, arts and racism, disabilities and community development. One of the most exciting projects he has recently worked on includes a socially produced documentary that highlights the multidisciplinary science’s that overlap and tell the story of hominoids on earth.
Naresh Kaushal
StoryMapper, Lambeth (London)
Naresh has spent the last 3 years or so as part of the steering group for the project 81 acts of Exuberant Defiance. It is a community led arts project to honour and commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1981 Brixton Uprising. He has curated and produced the 60 seconds stories project for ACE funded CPP network. The project was a collection of 1 minute films made by community arts organisations telling their own stories in their own words.
Nina Perry
StoryMapper, Lewisham (London)
Nina is currently producing a Sunday Feature for BBC Radio 3 called ‘A New Art – Modernism and the radio feature” – to be aired as part of the BBC Centenary. It’s an idea that emerged from her PhD research, and explores the life and experimental storytelling/broadcasts of early radio pioneer Lance Sieveking. TX April 2022. Nina was also part of the ‘The Dream(ing) Field Lab’ creative team in 2021, commissioned by Season for Change. She created soundscapes from sounds and reflections recorded at the retreat, which were part of an immersive performance at a festival curated by ArtsAdmin.
Owen Richards
StoryMapper, Swansea (Wales)
Owen has spent the past ten years as a digital storyteller in the social care sector, and was recently chosen from Channel 4’s 4Screenwriting scheme. His short film OVERS was broadcast on BBC Two Wales. He is most proud of working with foster children on a co-production, teaching them how to structure stories, use filming equipment, and helping them to create videos that are now used in the care system.
Patricia Lalla
TrailMaker, Lambeth (London)
Whilst completing an MA in Immersive Storytelling, Patricia obtained an internship on ‘The Big Fix Up’ (an AR Wallace & Gromit story) by the consortium Fictioneers in partnership with Aardman. She is currently developing an AR music-heritage app experience about the Windrush journey in London – a story that is close to home for her. As a proud Londoner she is excited to illuminate lesser known historical stories.
Sian Macfarlane
TrailMaker, Wolverhampton
Sian launched an exhibition at New Art Gallery Walsall, ‘We Are Illuminated’, where she created a body of work in collaboration with people from the area, exploring the neon leisure life, the fairs, carnivals, Walsall illuminations, and cinemas, gathering stories and using artefacts from the museum collections. She is currently working on a project which is exploring the relationship of Oscar Rejlander, a Victorian photographer, dubbed ‘the father of art photography’, to Wolverhampton, where he had a studio for several years.
Will Hewitt
TrailMaker, Swindon
William recently co-directed and edited the documentary ‘Harmonic Spectrum’, which was awarded Best Short Film by BAFTA Scotland 2021. The film is about Sean who uses the Piano to navigate life on the Autistic Spectrum. As he is drawn into new musical collaborations he must learn to balance his enthusiasm and compulsive energy with understanding and compromise, redefining his perspective in the process. This year, William will release his first feature length documentary ‘Long Live My Happy Head’ on BBC with a World Premiere at BFI Flare film. This project has been a labour of love for him in his role as Co-Director for the last 2.5 years and I’m thrilled it’s finally reaching audiences.
Training 