People
Sarah Fisher EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Sarah has over 30 yrs experience in the arts. Currently Executive Director of Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, Co-Chair of Culture Forum North and on the advisory board of Hardman House. Previous history includes leading the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester, and Head of Visual Arts, Arts Council NW, amongst other roles. Sarah began her career as a London-based practicing artist, lecturing at the Slade School of Art and Chelsea College of Art and Design. Sarah has a B.A. Fine Art (Winchester School of Art) and an M.A. Fine Art (Royal College of Art).
Max Gorbatskyi CURATOR
Max is a curator from Ukraine who is particularly interested in exploring photography’s unique ability to simultaneously reflect and form visual culture and be a powerful but accessible medium that operates both in and beyond the realm of art. Max was previously a curator at Ukraine’s flagship cultural institution Mystetskyi Arsenal, where he focused on developing photography programmes and exhibitions. He worked extensively with archival and contemporary photography. Hi is a co-founder of the Ukrainian. Photographies platform.
max@openeye.org.uk
Liz Wewiora Head of Social Practice
Liz Wewiora is a visual artist and curator, specialising in socially engaged practice. Her background is in photography, graduating from Glasgow School of Art with a Fine Art Photography Degree and more recently a Masters by Research degree titled ‘locating the potential of photography as a socially engaged practice’ at Manchester School of Art. She has worked independently and across organisation roles in the North West and Glasgow, including FACT, CCA Glasgow, Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art and Glasgow Sculpture Studios.
Liz is the Head of Social Practice for Open Eye Gallery, leading on our socially engaged programme working with and for communities and cross-sector partners across the city region. She also manages the national network for socially engaged photography (SEPN). Across both her curatorial and practitioner role, she seeks to instigate and produce collaborative photography projects that push for social change.
liz@openeye.org.uk
Sophie Mahon Head of Social Practice
Sophie Mahon is a socially engaged artist and producer. Their interdisciplinary practice combines film, sculpture and digital experimentation to create installations, artworks and events.
Sophie has worked across the UK and internationally with a wide range of organisations and communities as an artist, arts educator and creative producer. Sophie’s work addresses a range of social, political and environmental issues. Ideas are explored and developed through action research and working closely and collaboratively with communities.
Sophie is passionate about socially engaged practice and seeks to create work that brings people together, instigates conversations and pushes for social change.
Sophie is the Head of Social Practice for Open Eye Gallery, leading on our socially engaged programmes and creative residencies, working with and for communities and building cross-sector partnerships across the city region.
sophie@openeye.org.uk
Maria Gulina Digital Marketing, Communications and Content Producer
Maria Gulina is a journalist, editor and photographer. She previously worked as an editor in independent media in Belarus, where she worked with topics of culture, sustainable tourism, and creative urban projects. She also worked in environmental NGOs, collaborating on the projects that promote nature protection, biodiversity, and citizen participation in decision making. She has her short stories and essays published, and her photos and collages were part of several exhibitions in Belarus, Czech Republic and online.
She did MA in Media and Cultural Studies in Lancaster University, with a dissertation on contemporary art strategies in working with the topic of climate crisis, and after that did an internship with Lancaster Arts as curator assistant and creative producer assistant.
Maria is interested in the intersections of art, environment and participatory culture.
At Open Eye Gallery Maria is responsible for spreading the word about all the ongoing projects and exhibitions.
Alex Sheen OPERATIONS MANAGER
Alex oversees the operational and financial aspects of the organisation, including governance, human resources, and the building and office facilities. She is enthusiastic about increasing opportunities and accessibility across the arts and coordinates our volunteer and placement schemes.
Alex completed an MA in Art History and Curating in 2020, specialising in 1930s Surrealist photography by women artists. In her spare time, she enjoys lino-printing and life drawing.
alex@openeye.org.uk
Sorcha Boyle RESPONSIVE PROGRAMME COORDINATOR
Sorcha coordinates the responsive programme at Open Eye Gallery – events and exhibitions responding to requests from artists, communities and other partners. Similarly she develops our independent bookshop and front-of-house space in collaboration with a range of creatives and contributors.
Since graduating with a degree in Photography from Manchester School of Art, one of her main focuses has been on audience participation and widening social engagement with the arts: from producing an exhibition review series with the public to facilitating female-led arts projects.
In her free time, Sorcha is an exhibiting artist working in lens based media, with an increasing focus on community engagement.
sorcha@openeye.org.uk
Jim Forshaw Finance Manager
Declan Connolly Programme Assistant
Declan Connolly manages the digital, design and promotional spaces at Open Eye Gallery, producing exhibitions through Open Source and designing wider exhibition visuals throughout the programme. Declan also manages Liverpool City Region Photo Awards, works on LOOK Photo Biennial and runs workshops and portfolio reviews for early career practitioners. In his spare time, Declan is an exhibiting photographer, graphic designer and sculptor based in Liverpool.
declan@openeye.org.uk
Bronwyn Andrews ASSISTANT CREATIVE PRODUCER
Bronwyn Andrews is an Assistant Creative Producer for Open Eye Gallery. They play a key role in the delivery, production, and development of the critically engaged artistic programmes at Open Eye.
Bronwyn graduated photography IADT Dublin in 2019 and is from Co. Louth, Ireland. Post graduating and pre Open Eye, they became the first employee of PhotoIreland, an organisation which has become a key constituent of the Visual Arts in Ireland over the last decade.
They are interested in examining Ireland’s Ireland’s Pre Catholic ancient imagery, heritage and national memory with a focus on the queer experience.
bronwyn@openeye.org.uk
Anna Wijnhoven Assistant Creative Producer
Anna is a recent graduate of UCEN and is about to begin her Masters in Socially Engaged Photography at the University of Salford.
As an assistant creative producer for Open Eye Gallery, Anna delivers the schools and Young People’s programme, in which she supports the development and delivery of critically engaged artistic programmes across the Liverpool city region, Chester, Leigh and Wigan.
Susannah Fletcher Audience and Gallery Supervisor
susannah@openeye.org.uk
Volunteers
Volunteers are an important and valued part of Open Eye Gallery. Without volunteers the gallery would not be able to offer high quality exhibitions and events to the public for free.
Find out more about volunteering, HERE.
Board Members
Lindsey Fryer – Chair Of The Board
Lindsey is a champion of collaboration and socially engaged arts practice and brings this to Open Eye Gallery supporting programmes with artists working within local communities, across countries and continents in arts, education, health, youth sectors, and the justice system.
Formerly Head of Learning at Tate Liverpool Lindsey brings experience of working with artists and people on different forms of collaborative and socially engaged arts practice, exhibition making and commissioning. Lindsey established Tate Exchange at Tate Liverpool inviting artists and cross sector partners to research, create and exhibit projects on their own terms within the gallery.
Making socially engaged practice public and visible is crucial in the mix for Open Eye Gallery’s programme. Lindsey brings a range of experience in support, having worked with artists, young people, communities and creative partners to include socially engaged practice in Tate’s exhibition programme by commissioning Ferocious Love with Mikhail Karikis; O.K. The Musical with Christopher Kline; Illuminating the Wilderness with Project Artworks; Art Gym with Tate Collective; Utupya with Opavivara.
Lindsey is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Gallery Education from engage and the Marsh Trust Charitable Trust.
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Peter Mearns
Peter was born in Dorking, Surrey, is a graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University and started his career with BBC Manchester. He has worked in a number of high profile marketing and communications roles for The University of Manchester, Manchester & Birmingham City Councils, Herefordshire & Worcestershire TEC, Chamber of Commerce & Business Link. Between 1999-2010 he was an Executive Director at the Northwest Development Agency with responsibility for Marketing & Communications.
He is an independent Marketing & Communications Advisor specialising in arts, tourism & business development, media and brand management, public affairs and major events. Peter is also an exhibiting artist/photographer.
His non-executive positions are: Chair – Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art; Vice Chair – Chester Performs; Committee Member – Tate Liverpool; Trustee – Liverpool Biennial, Foundation for Art & Creative Technology (FACT), Open Eye Gallery and the Ariel Trust, Liverpool.
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Sol Papadopoulos
Twice BAFTA nominated – Hurricane Films’ producer/director Sol has originated, written and shot documentary films and series for broadcasters, both nationally & internationally. Originally a stills photographer who picked up a film camera after a short course at the National Film School in Beaconsfield, England; his work to date has included the acclaimed historical series for WNET/PBS, WARSHIP and WARPLANE. As a self-shooter he includes his observational documentary, DOCKERS, for the UK’s Channel Four as one of his six Royal Television Society award winners.
Moving into producing feature films in 2008 with director Terence Davies’ OF TIME & THE CITY. A further two Terence Davies directed features followed – all critically acclaimed, premieres were Cannes (2008) OF TIME & THE CITY, SUNSET SONG in Toronto (2015) and A QUIET PASSION in Berlin (2016); In May 2017 his film A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN, also premiered at Cannes. More recently he has produced Bill Nighy starrer SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER (2019) and Tim Spall/Phyllis Logan starrer THE LAST BUS (2021). Sol attends all the major international film markets to develop and finance Hurricane Films’ slate of projects.
Sol is a member of Directors UK & BAFTA.
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Gary Bratchford
Gary Bratchford runs photography projects, writes, and teaches Photography at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), where he is also the Course Leader for the postgraduate (MA programme) in Photography. Gary also runs the Visual Culture Research Group and supervises postgraduate projects related to photography, visual culture, and social practice.
He is the President of the International Sociological Associations’ Visual Sociology Research Group and co-editor of the Journal Visual Studies.
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Christiane Todd
Christiane specialises in commercial and procurement law and has worked in both private practice and in-house. Christiane works for a global organisation and is legal counsel for procurement contracts in 41 countries. The organisation also has a substantial Arts and Culture programme to which Christiane provides legal support and guidance in addition to her regular work.
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Lilian Otaye-Ebede (PHD)
Professor Lilian Otaye-Ebede (PhD) is a Professor in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour with the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, holding a PhD in Management from Aston University. She has over 13 years’ experience in higher education, having held previous academic positions at Aston, Lancaster, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool John Moores Universities. Her research interests are in the areas of diversity management (race/ethnicity, gender, neurodiversity), strategic Human Resource Management (HRM), work/life interface and employee well-being. Lilian is an Associate Member of the Higher Education Academy, an Academic Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) and serves on various journal editorial boards. Lilian advises the OEG board on HR and Race equality matters.
Fisher
GORBATSKYI
Wewiora
Mahon
Gulina
SHEEN
BOYLE
FORSHAW
ANDREWS
WIJNHOVEN
FLETCHER
MEMBERS
