Everyone at Fun Palaces works part time, and flexibly.
Fun Palaces is a campaign to make the cultural sector fairer, more inclusive, richer and more fun. We strive to celebrate everyone’s cultural life, everyone’s voice, everyone’s uniqueness. Therefore, we take care of each other at work, develop our roles around the people in them, and respect people’s lives beyond the workplace. We are working on formalising our policies. Social justice and equity is at the heard of everything we do, and we are always working hard to do better. We want Fun Palaces to be a workplace in which people, whatever their background, can do their best work, wholeheartedly, where people can be vulnerable and feel safe, where people can grow, and change the world. We know that this looks different for everyone, and each team member works in their own way. We make space for that.
Fun Palaces Director
Amie Taylor has been involved in Fun Palaces since 2013, and has made 4 Fun Palaces. She joined the Fun Palaces HQ Team in 2021 as a producer.
She’s a writer, theatre-maker, workshop facilitator and producer. She has written three books: The Big Book of LGBTQ+ Activities, The Monster Book of Feelings and Pride Families. She has written short plays and made theatre shows for children and toured theatres, festivals and schools with this work. Amie founded and ran the LGBTQ+ Arts Review for 6 years, managing a team of theatre reviewers across London and beyond. She loves shadow puppets, being outside and karaoke.
Executive Producer
Orla Nicholls is a tech enthusiast with a passion for planning, who originally joined the Fun Palaces team in the Co-ordinator role. She started her Fun Palace journey in 2014, creating the Luton Fun Palace over the October weekend of celebration, so is able to bring first-hand experience of being a Maker to the role.
When not working at Fun Palaces, she lends her expertise to small business owners, helping them host virtual events and optimise their digital technology. She has a keen interest in the power of intergenerational connections for communities as well as amplifying underrepresented voices.
Producer
Rachel Attfield joined Fun Palaces in May 2024. Rachel is happiest when she is making things, this takes the form of traditional and forgotten crafts, knots, plaiting and anything woven. Her work has recently been exhibited at Trowbridge Gardens in Hackney Wick following an artist residency. Her career began in dance working as a choreographer and engagement practitioner. In 2020 thanks to a career break, Rachel embarked on an MA in Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths London University where she explored Cultural Democracy focusing on the management of culture within funded participatory programmes. Rachel is excited to be part of Fun Palaces where she can put this research into practice, and her role fulfils a long-term aspiration to be part of the organisation after hearing Stella Duffy’s inspiring talk about Fun Palaces in 2015.
Campaigns Coordinator
Ria Patel is now the Campaigns Coordinator, and initially started as the Project Coordinator. They are passionate about genuine diversity, inclusion and fostering belonging. She studied Psychology at university, but have always been passionate about the arts, having danced from a young age.
They are a disrupter. Initially their experience in campaigns started with climate action, migrant justice and Queer liberation at both a local and national scale, but this has since expanded.
She is also involved in local politics in Croydon, being Croydon’s youngest-ever and first non-binary councillor. When not working, Ria finds joy in dancing, reading and being in nature!
Our Advisory Board
The Fun Palaces Director and Executive Producer meet with the Advisory Board four times a year.
Emma Rucastle
Emma is a freelance creative professional – writer, director, performer, facilitator, who has led and created performances – community and professional – in theatres, castles, libraries, parks and more. Passionate about inclusive theatre, she has delivered creative workshops and projects of all kinds in schools and outreach settings with the GRT community and refugee groups and has worked creatively in prisons, care homes, SEND settings and a wide range of other community venues. She is a Lead Maker of Lancaster Fun Palace, which has been running since the very start of the Fun Palaces campaign in 2014. More information about her work can be found at www.elartproductions.co.uk
Tracey Sage
Tracey is the Founder of SageCulture where she works at a strategic level across sectors supporting local authorities, organisations, artists and entrepreneurs to develop their practise and create sustainable business models fuelled by their passion. She has been responsible for; developing place-making initiatives, leading cultural, tourism, regeneration & heritage programmes; devising commissioning and funding frameworks; facilitating collaborative partnerships; leading community engagement and inclusion initiatives; overseeing, curating and delivering large-scale festivals and events.
Hayley Murphy
Hayley is Development Director and Deputy CEO of The Albany with extensive experience in fundraising, income generation and community engagement in the arts and heritage sector. Over the past 5 years at the Albany she has played a key role in shaping strategy and strengthening partnerships at the Albany particularly for Borough of Culture 2022 in Lewisham. Previously, Hayley held fundraising roles with Tate, Institute of Imagination and The Prince’s Regeneration Trust.
Mark Blay
Mark is the Finance Manager at The Albany.
Our Ambassadors
Our Ambassadors are local people working with a variety of partner organisations across the UK. Like the Fun Palaces core team, they are all part-time, this means that their own interests and passions both feed and are supported by their work with Fun Palaces.
The connections between individual Ambassadors, their local communities and the partner organisations (each with a different focus) extends the work Ambassadors can do locally and regionally.
Rhiannon Lister-Coburn at Rotherham Council
Rhiannon is a dance and theatre graduate and has worked in Community arts development since 2002, as well as a working in education. She has worked with Hospitals, Mental Health Centres, Social Services, Scope, Sense, Youth Centres, Older people’s Homes, Children’s Centres and voluntary groups. In the past, she has specialised in arts and health projects, and passionately believes that taking part in creativity, can have huge beneficial impacts on social, emotional and mental health. Whilst previously working with communities in Rotherham, Rhiannon developed many evaluation tools and authored an evaluation toolkit, available on many websites. In her Ambassador role in Rotherham, Rhiannon helps bring communities, venues and people together to form new and exciting connections.