Debs Armstrong

Deborah is the Creative Director and Founder of Strong & Co, a vehicle for producing artistic installations as ephemeral events. She initially made her mark as Lost Vagueness, taking the group from a loose anarchic collective to a well-known brand. Deborah went on to develop the Arts Council Contemporary Art at Festivals tour which enabled her to develop projects collaborating with the most cutting edge of digital innovation artists. Since then, she has received critical acclaim as Creative Director of Shangri-La, a film set the size of a town and one of Glastonbury Festivals best loved areas.

Debs current project Summerland is a pioneering new type of Immersive Theatrical Festival, a warm balmy tropical paradise you can visit in a day and still be home in time for tea.

Deborah studied fine art from 1993-1997 at Central St Martins and Byam Shaw schools of art, specialising in experiential, multi-media installations and environmental performance. She began working in events in 1995, by producing installations within them, but quickly realised that the installation was the entire event.

Deborah is well-known for her above-the-ordinary commitment to creativity, quality, innovation and service.  Deborah, in 2006 founded Strong & Co, a Bespoke Event Design company that produces exceptional ephemeral events for high-end clients including The Liverpool Biennial, The Guardian & Observer, EMI and Carl Cox. Deborah transforms a space to communicate to audiences, she specialises in so many different areas from outdoor spaces and festivals to lighting, AV and artistic installations.

Debs is who “we go to make our events brilliant.  We will have the initial concept and idea but we bring in Debs and her team to take it up a level.  To call Debs the most creative person I know is an understatement…her event execution is flawless.”

Sefton Woodhouse – Vice President Artist Relations & Event Management, EMI Music U

Joel Cahen

With a background in sound design and music for stage and screen productions as well as new media, Joel has built on his interest of interrogating the effect of sound in various spaces – physical, cultural and the body.

Since 2008, he has been performing worldwide with Wet Sounds, an underwater concert project that sonifies both wet and dry areas of the swimming pools; Scrap Club, the public Destructivist activity; Cacophonic! A weekly live abstract mash ups on Resonance 104.4fm London; and productions for Interzone Theatre, sound based geo-locative fictions in public spaces of the city.

He has co-founded the England registered charity Liquid Vibrations with Adele Drake (Founder of Drake Music) and started underwater listening sessions for children with special needs at Special Schools in the UK. Joel’s work has been presented at ISEA, AV Festival, ATP, Helsinki Festival, The Royal Neurological Hospital, and various symposia, music and art festivals worldwide.

Joshua Kane

Joshua Kane cut his teeth at some of Britain’s most respected fashion houses and in the past year launched his own eponymous label and in no time has picked up a host of esteemed clientèle, from musicians, actors to directors and other creative industries.

In the same year he produced two of London’s most talked about immersive runway shows, more akin to a theatrical production than catwalk show, they where both featured on GQ and Vogue respectively.

Joshua Kane’s bespoke suits, and indeed the ready-to-wear line and accessories are all proudly designed, tailored, woven, and manufactured in England.
Harnessing the rich history of traditional makers such as Joseph H. Clissold for fabric development, Laird & Co for the signature Gostick hat, and Victorian stalwarts James Smith & Sons for their first umbrella collaboration, Joshua has created a label that fuses the elegance of fine luxury tailoring with intelligently considered design details that resonates with the modern, style conscious client

Karl Lokko

Karl Lokko is a 26 year old former gang leader who has now turned his life around, further this he has managed to harness his life experiences which has propelled and uniquely situated him as an activist/influencer within the U.K.  A gifted orator with a rare ability to connect with people on a human level, granting him undoubtedly the role of a bridge, bridging worlds and uniting community.

Karl Lokko is now an ambassador and consultant for Big Change, a tireless community worker and campaigner working to reform gang culture in the U.K. Karl is undeniably one of the most potent young voices in the country and demonstrates this through various mediums.

Karl is a poet, musician, freelance writer, and public speaker who utilises his talents through these channels to articulate his message, views and opinions to the general public, including a youth audience otherwise hard to reach by traditional means.

Karl is also a public speaker and often presents a hybrid of oratory mixed with poetry to captivate and take his audience on a journey. He has spoken/performed at multiple prestigious events, to everyone from royalty to youth workers. Karl has spoken for corporates including KPMG, Deloitte, Havas, Wahanda and Virgin top name a few.

Katherine Kashtan

Katherine Kashtan brings a deep understanding gleaned from a decade of working with major brands to design and produce huge events. She now works with her own network of creatives around the world, developing ideas for visual projects combining creative fields and managing their implementation.

Having cut her teeth with one of Russia’s biggest brands, she went on to create award-winning collaborations with brands such as BMW on special campaigns including the development of high tech, 3D outdoor visuals for agency giant BBDO. Now as an independent creative producer of some repute, she has brought this invaluable knowledge to two massive arts and music festivals taking place across Russia to critical acclaim as well as to fashion events in the Baltics and art exhibitions in Austria, London, Vilnius and Moscow.

KP Kofler

KP Kofler is a German entrepreneur and founder of highly acclaimed catering company Kofler & Kompanie who provide world-class cuisine for high profile events including hospitality for the World Cup and Winter Olympics.

In 2004, KP launched his passion project, Pret a Diner with London-based artist Olivia Steele. They shared a combined desire to create a restaurant where curiosities could be satisfied and where their diners could indulge in a multi-sensual space, pushing the boundaries of design and food. Pret a Diner is a dining experience where Michelin-starred food, masterful cocktails, art, music and people are all fused together to create an experience for culture seekers. For these adventurous souls, Pret a Diner is a home from home, a haven for art enthusiasts, urban explorers, music lovers, food fanatics, party animals and people collectors. It has been awarded ‘Caterer of the Year’ on no less than 3 occasions.

In addition to these two culinary colossi, KP owns restaurants in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and London and three Cafes in Berlin. In 2013, KP opened the Magazine restaurant at the new Serpentine Sackler Gallery in Hyde Park- A contemporary dining space.

Nelly Ben Hayoun

Nelly has been called the “Willy Wonka of design and science” and she is on a mission to bring chaos, subversion and disorder into the design and the scientific world. She designs award-winning experiences that enable you to become an astronaut in a living room, while a volcano is erupting on the couch. She is the founding Director of the International Space Orchestra in NASA Ames Research Center, Designer of Experiences at the SETI Institute and Head of Experiences at We Transfer.

Nelly’s new project, Disaster Playground is a creative platform investigating the design of emergency procedures with space experts at NASA and an all star team of composers and collaborators including the Deputy Director of NASA Ames and astronaut Yvonne Cagle, and composers such as Bobby Womack and Beck.

In 2013, Icon Magazine nominated Ben Hayoun as one of the 50 international designers “shaping the future”.In 2014, Wired Magazine awards Nelly Ben Hayoun with a WIRED Innovation fellowship for her work to date and for its potential to make a “significant impact on the world”.

Polly Betton

Polly is the founder of unusual event specialists Teatime Production, and the creator – in collaboration with Soho House Group – of Edible Cinema. Described as “wildly creative” by Vanity Fair, Edible Cinema is a unique way to experience a film: through aroma, texture and taste. Guests enjoy a timed taster menu or experimental bites and mini cocktails matched to the action on screen. Edible Cinema has a devoted following – events always sell out, some in less than 10 minutes – and has won plaudits in the press (‘Gastronomic theatre” – Vogue, “A feast for the eyes, ears and taste buds” – Conde Nast Traveller, “The ultimate marriage of film & food” – Time Out).

Teatime Production is known for its varied, trend-leading output, which it delivers to major brands and private clients alike. Teatime projects span new technology, immersive theatre, sensory experiences, extravagant set builds and wild parties.

Rhythm

Rhythm is the offspring of digital craftsmen Ed Baldry & Adam Palmer, two interactive designers whose work helps people play, create, interact, have fun and maybe even learn something.

Rhythm love to make digital things happen in real physical spaces. Every project involves experimentation, often using smartphones, touchscreens, big screens, cameras and motion controllers, all hooked up in new and interesting ways.

Since 2012, their take on instruction-free natural interaction has been unleashed for brands such as Moët, Intel, the V&A and TalkTalk.

All their work is hand crafted in their studio in Manchester’s fashionable Northern Quarter, which boasts an impressive turret, period features and commanding views, but no bean bags.

Sam Bompas

Sam is the co founder of Bompas and Parr, leaders in flavour based experience design, architectural installations and contemporary food research. The studio first came to prominence through its expertise in jelly making using it as a vehicle to research the cross modal correspondences of the senses and the relationship between food and architecture. It has since gone on to create immersive flavour based experiences ranging from an inhabitable cloud of gin and tonic, tasting coffee from space and a Taste Experience for the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, officially the best place to taste Guinness in the world.

Sam has also been behind a 12 course Victorian breakfast at Warwick Castle, a 300 dessert banquet at Kenilworth and a punch so big people sailed across it. The studio works with some of the world’s biggest companies (Diageo, Cargill, Mercedes-Benz) and the world’s foremost cultural institutions (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Garage Centre for Contemporary Culture, Moscow).

Simon Evans

Simon is the precociously talented director behind sell-out shows The Dazzle and Bug in London’s hottest new theatre space Founder 111. Both shows received 5 star reviews from influential press.

Working with The Department on the Life RX found Simon directing a cast of over 200 to bring the creative vision to a reality.

Simon was also the theatrical director behind Secret Cinema classics, Shawshank Redemption and Ghostbusters as well as a host of celebrated productions at the Old Vic and the Donmar Warehouse to name a few.

The trust shown in him to hold the reins of such leviathans of the creative world is a demonstration of Simon’s ability to deliver with triumph.

A two time Close-up Magician of the year, he is also an accomplished magic consultant delivering an unparalleled service to clients such as the National Theatre and the BBC.

Sophie Cohen

Sophie Cohen, the founder of erotic performance agency, House of Kittens, is incredibly passionate about bringing the essence of the sensual pagentries of bygone times and presenting them in a new authentic voice on the forefront of erotic performance art.

Originating from San Francisco, Sophie has over a decade’s experience as an international showgirl where her creative process is greatly inspired by the history of old music hall and cabaret.

During her career as a performer and company director at House of Kittens, Sophie has acquired a diverse knowledge of creative and practical skills in show production, developing creative concepts, costume design, styling, and choreography. Her clientele has given Sophie and her Kittens the great privilege of showcasing their expertise internationally to illustrious crowds as well as the supreme joy of performing on a more interactive level for intimate soirée’s and open festivities

Steff & Mike

By day, Steff and Mike are Burst TV, cross-genre multimedia artists producing visual delights for Lady Gaga, Pet Shop Boys and Nick Knight as well as large Opera productions in Hamburg, Tokyo and London. Multi-talented, they take on the complete process from original concept and audio and video creation to the technical production on site.

By night however, they turn into New Opera Hero, redefining the term ‘band’ – amalgamating visual and sonic art into a true “Gesamtkunstwerk”. Deliberately difficult to classify, they compose, create visuals and design all trying to change the way music performance is perceived. In their first exclusively created work, performed in Cairo and at the Royal Opera Liege, they used 3D and holographic projections, Kinect tracking and real-time animations to create life-like illusions.

Since then they have performed in London, Berlin and St. Petersburg, including OneDotZero and Fusion festival. In 2010 and 2012 NOH were winners of the prestigious MAMA Music Awards and placed 2nd at the international Randstad VJ Awards. They are currently developing an interdisciplinary touring stage in collaboration with Kinetica Museum.

Viktor Wynd

Viktor is The Chancellor of The Last Tuesday Society and a multidisciplinary artist often creating wonderful and elaborate subversive socials involving casts of up to 200 performers and many thousands of participants.

Following a rich education, he founded The Last Tuesday Society aiming to foster and develop the careers of both emerging and established artists, working with other independent curators to produce shows, all tainted with his cultured, collector’s eye and his love of the extraordinary. In addition, he opened his own Little Shop of Horrors, ‘Hackney’s Leading Curiosity Shop’- Perhaps best seen as an attempt to recreate a 17th century Wunderkabinett; a collection of objects assembled at a whim on the basis of their aesthetic or historical appeal. Viktor’s Little Shop has become home to some delightfully debauched shindigs nestled amongst the weird and wonderful expositions.

His gallery exhibitions, including “Why I Think I’m So Fucking Special – It’s All About Me” – Miami 2004 & “The Sorrows of Young Wynd” Miami 2006 were designed as multifaceted immersive installations, however he swiftly became frustrated with the art world preferring to create vast social sculptures. In 2013 he was the subject of a documentary by the National Geographic Channel watched by almost 200 million people