Helen Brown
Chair and Founder of ArtSquat
I’ve spent a number of years in the international and UK charity sector, focusing on health, disability, emergency response and access to education. I am passionate about encouraging local talent through community based art. Walking around my home area of Leith I saw space available in cafes, galleries and shops which could be used by artists without funds or contacts. I decided to start ArtSquat using a donation from my late mother, Margaret Ann Gillespie, who dedicated her life to supporting people in her own community. My aim is to enable artists on low income to develop, exhibit and sell their work in available local space – giving them the confidence to know they can succeed. ArtSquat will also engage with established artists and charitable groups to promote creative work for community benefit.
Rob Barclay
Trustee
I have a passion for art, which is eclectic to say the least. I enjoy pre Raphelite, renaissance, modern Scottish colourists, pop art and neo classicism to name but a few and this ensures I am always looking for exhibitions of new and old works. I love to see aspiring artists being given an opportunity to showcase their work to a new, wider audience.
When I’m in a new city or country I find time to visit galleries and have been privileged to have seen exhibitions in New York, Singapore, Lisobon, Shanghai, Toronto and London – as well as my home town of Leith.
Diana Leat PhD
Trustee
I have held research and teaching posts at a variety of institutions world-wide including LSE, UCLA, Demos, Cass Business School, Deakin, Carnegie Trust, CPNS at QUT and The Rockefeller Archive Center, New York. I have published over 120 articles and books on philanthropy, social policy and cross sector relations. I was a trustee of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and am now on the boards of ArtSquat and the Blagrave Trust. My latest book Philanthropic Foundations, Public Good and Public Policy is published by Palgrave Macmillan.
Bradley Mcarthur, CIMA Cert BA
Treasurer
I am a finance professional, currently working for Mercy Corps as their International Finance Officer for South East Asia. A graduate in Accountancy from Heriot Watt University, I am currently studying to complete my CIMA professional qualifications. I have a passion for the third sector after previous experience working for The Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, COMAS, LEAPS and the British Heart Foundation and am very excited to help ArtSquart grow as a young charity. I am involved in the Beltane Fire Society, an Edinburgh based arts charity and have taken on a variety of performance based roles. I also sit on their board of directors/trustees, initially as the Treasurer and now as the Director for Fundraising & Income Generation and Sustainability. In my spare time, I create a variety of art under the artist name Buraddori which I publish to Instagram.