Fundraising Team
Alex Bowen,
Director
Moved to Wales from Yorkshire in 1991, following a Leeds Uni BA Hons course in Film & TV, and running Lighthouse Video Productions in York. She joined Valley and Vale to work in the Video department, moved into the Valleys where she enjoyed a warm welcome from the local community, and has stayed there ever since.
Often seen mountain biking up and down the Garw Valley, or surfing, which is what she does for fun (and when not up to her eyeballs in funding applications). Has a passion for Community Arts and Media and has grown and developed with the organisation over the years.
Became Director of Valley and Vale nearly a decade ago, and has worked hard to invest in the staff team and management committee, building an organisation fit for the future, putting in place firm and honest foundations, bringing in a range of funding sources and devising a busy programme of ground-breaking Community Arts and Media projects for a range of client groups with our creative team of arts workers.
Her belief in the importance of the work of Valley and Vale gets stronger and stronger every year, but there is still much more to be done. Looking ahead, and now as Chair of WACA (Wales Association of Community Arts), she is actively involved in campaigning for the future of the Community Arts sector in Wales in partnership with The Arts Council of Wales and Welsh Assembly Government.
Tamesin Padgett,
Funding Administrator
"I
moved to Cardiff in 2003 and was offered a job at Valley
and Vale Community Arts as a Funding Administrator. It’s
a great place to work with lots of creativity, and lovely
people. Every day is different which keeps it interesting.
I love the relaxed way of life in Wales and having the countryside on my doorstep. I enjoy learning to surf (mainly falling off) and my dog Fraggle."
Ali Franks,
Drama Development Worker
On leaving school in 1992 I spent two years working in London’s East End as a voluntary community worker. This involved running children’s clubs and youth groups, visiting the elderly and working on the streets with the homeless. I was also the drama and dance co-ordinator for a young peoples roadshow. In 1994 I attended the University of Warwick where I gained a 1st Class Honours BA(QTS) in Drama and Education. In this time I also set up a theatre company called Threshold Theatre where we performed as part of the Coventry Arts Alive Festival in 1997.
After spending two more years living in London, I visited Odin
Teatret in Denmark shortly after which I moved back
to my family home in Devon, where
I studied an MA in Devised Theatre at Dartington
College of Arts. In September 2001 I moved with my
partner to South Wales. I spent three years as a Drama
Teacher at Willows High School in Cardiff where I first
made contact with Valley and Vale working on "Our
World - Our Journeys" a multi arts project with
young asylum seekers. I joined Valley and Vale
as Youth Arts Development and Drama Worker in October
2004 to set up and facilitate the "Breathing Space" Anti-Bullying
project. During this time I have also developed
and written a teaching pack to accompany the "Our
World" video which will be available to all secondary
schools in Wales.
Katja Stiller,
Video Development Worker
Katja is originally from Germany she came to Cardiff to
improve her English that was 17 years ago. Since then she
has made Wales her home. Katja has been working for Valley 
and
Vale for the past 10 years. She studied Film and Television
at Newport University. After a short stint in the industry
she went to India and produced two documentaries one about
a slum school in Bhopal and one about the lives of the Dalits.
After this experience she wanted to learn how to use video
as a tool for development and completed an MA course in Southampton
part of the course was a two months stay in a refugee camp
in Ghana where they used video as a tool for conflict resolution.
Katja recognises the power of the medium and doesn't want to make films about people but with them. She believes given the chance to represent themselves people start to reflect on their lives this gives them an opportunity to make conscious decisions affecting their lives.
Katja mainly works with people who are socially excluded. Many of them have experienced trauma in their lives. It is very important for her to offer individuals a safe environment where they can explore their lives. She is currently working towards a counselling diploma, which gives her space for reflection and the support she needs in order to go there with others.
Over the past two years Rhys Hughes, Nick Clements and Katja have been developing Person Centred Creativity, which combines interpersonal skills with community arts (please read more about it under PCC). They are hoping to offer courses in the future.
Katja believes that being able to creatively express yourself is very important for people's mental and physical health and that the opportunity to creatively express feelings and emotions can improve and change people's lives.
