Announcing our new Executive Director, Ben Cooper-Melchiors
“We are delighted to welcome Ben Cooper-Melchiors to Artsadmin as our new Executive Director and Co-CEO with his considerable arts expertise. He joins the organisation at an exciting time, in the final stages of a comprehensive strategic review and as we look forward to a new NPO application and shaping our future.
Jeremy Smeeth, Chair of Trustees, Artsadmin (he/him)
We are incredibly grateful to Deborah Chadbourn for her amazing hard work, commitment and creativity. In close collaboration with staff, trustees and Artistic Director Róise Goan, she has navigated Artsadmin through this challenging time with great skill and humility.”
“What an opportunity and moment. I’m utterly thrilled to join Artsadmin and work alongside Róise Goan. My passions sit squarely with big picture frameworks that allow adventurous use of form – across performance, space and technology – for transformative impact. For the distinct communities we serve, for the environment, to ourselves and to each other. Artsadmin is a vanguard for being pioneering with dauntless artists to evoke change and is doing deep work to unpack and understand our world’s inequities. At a moment when the future is the least certain, when we need new views on what that should look like, what a great group of people and values to join.”
Ben Cooper-Melchiors (he/him)
Ben has produced a range of performance models with ambitious artists in theatre, dance and technology – often at scale in iconic locations – and has led strategic direction, finance, and organisational resilience for hyperlocal and national arts organisations. Ben has provided admin or general management for Battersea Arts Centre, National Youth Theatre and IdeasTap and been a producer for Franko B, The Red Room and Young Vic, alongside assisting Artistic Director David Lan. As East London Dance’s Executive Director, with the CEO & Artistic Director, he led the strategic direction to grow the staff team as well as annual turnover to £1m over a seven-year period, secured The Guardian’s third 5* review in a decade for East Wall in the Tower of London moat, and completed a £4.1m historic warehouse refit as a making space for the young people and creatives of east London. He is a mentor for I LIKE NETWORKING and a board member of Gaydio, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ radio outlet.
Executive Director Deborah Chadbourn is stepping down to retrain as a counsellor and Ben Cooper-Melchiors joins us in early March.