Meet our Team

Simon Hart

Director and CEO

For the past forty years Simon has enjoyed a busy, successful and varied career in the arts. Previous to joining Arts D&G, Simon was director of the Taigh Chearsabhagh Arts Centre & Museum, on the Isle of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, and before that for over two decades the artistic director of Puppet Animation Scotland, championing puppetry, visual theatre and animation nationally and internationally, primarily through the Manipulate Visual Theatre Festival and the Puppet Animation Festival. A graduate of the University of Glasgow, the Royal College of Music and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Simon has also worked extensively as a classical singer, actor, musical director and singing teacher with a wide range of leading UK cultural institutions such as Scottish Opera, Dundee Rep, RADA and the universities of Queen Margaret, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

Melissa Mitchell

Administration and Finance Lead

Melissa has worked in the arts for over 10 years, starting in front of house and venue management before moving behind the scenes to operations, festival co-ordination and producing. Belief that the arts should be accessible to all and that they have to power to change society for the better is at the heart of her work and she is always seeking opportunities to discover new artists and expand her creative horizons. Previously having been part of the Artistic Programming team at Southbank Centre, Melissa relishes the opportunity to work across different artforms, nurturing collaborations and facilitating generative creative spaces. She is hugely excited to develop this work in her new role as Administrator for Arts D&G.

Liam Russell

Creative Director of Up Yer Airts

Liam Russell, Director of Arts D&G’s youth strand UP YER AIRTS, is a creative professional based in Dumfries and Galloway. With over a decade of experience working across the region’s creative industries, Liam has spent the past five years serving as the creative lead behind UP YER AIRTS, a pioneering programme that breaks new ground in providing accessible and transformative opportunities for young people to develop their creative practice and shape future careers in the cultural sector. Since joining the Arts D&G team in 2020, Liam has been instrumental in building and driving the project from the ground up, leading to a bold and ambitious programme of activities planned for 2025 and beyond. UP YER AIRTS has been established as a trailblazing platform for experiential learning, empowering young people to push creative boundaries, build confidence in their creative skills, and forge clear pathways into the creative industries.

Aisling Anderson

Marketing and Communications Lead

Aisling has worked professionally in the creative industry for a number of years, splitting her time between Dumfries and Galloway and Edinburgh. Aisling has been a part of the Arts D&G Team for almost three years, having started as an intern in October 2023. Her role within the organisation was quickly made permanent, and she took on additional responsibility working with Liam on the brand identity and launch of youth initiative UP YER AIRTS. Aisling is also the Creative Producer of Performance Collective Stranraer, another important youth organisation for the region's cultural scene. Prior to her work with Arts D&G, Aisling secured her First Class Honours Degree in Drama at Queen Margaret University, and worked freelance as a Producer in and around Edinburgh, including at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Rosanna Flynn

Social Media Intern

Rosanna is currently studying Marketing at Heriot-Watt University while working as a Social Media and Marketing Intern with Arts D&G. Alongside supporting the promotion of the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival, Rosanna works across digital marketing, audience engagement, and content creation for a wide range of events and projects across the region. Since joining Arts D&G, Rosanna has supported social media promotion, event marketing, and digital content creation across the organisation’s festival and year-round programme. Alongside her work with Arts D&G, she has gained experience across music, live events, and cultural marketing through roles with Assai Records, MediaGang for Hidden Door Festival and KBJ Consultancy. Her work has included social media management, youth-focused campaign promotion, live event support, experiential marketing activity, and audience engagement within independent arts and cultural spaces.

Meet our Trustees

Katy Taylor

Chair

Katy Taylor is the Artistic Director & CEO of Queens Hall Arts in Hexham, where she leads ambitious programming, community engagement, and partnerships in the region. Prior to this, she was Artistic Director at The Witham in Barnard Castle, playing a key role in transforming a Victorian music hall into a thriving arts and community venue. At Queens Hall Arts, Katy has developed innovative projects such as Illuminated Sheep, the Key Change Youth Music Festival, and the first Hexham Pride. She is committed to accessible, inclusive arts experiences rooted in place and people. Katy divides her time between Northumberland and Dumfries & Galloway, inspired by the cultural life and landscapes of the borderlands.

Dani Rae

Dani Rae is Managing Director of Assembly Festival, the longest running multi-venue operator on the Edinburgh Fringe. Over the last 20+ years, Dani has worked with some of the UK and Europe's leading arts organisations including: Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, Aurora Nova, Imaginate, Tron Theatre, Scottish Opera, Stellar Quines, Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival and Live Theatre. Assembly also produces the Edinburgh Food Festival and with partners Unique Events, Edinburgh’s Christmas and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay. Originally from Dumfries & Galloway, Dani is proud to be part of Arts D&G, an integral part of the arts and cultural landscape of the region.

Mark Lister

Mark has worked in theatres from Aberdeen to Arnhem doing every job from general manager to ice cream seller for the last fifty years. After 10 years as an actor, he retreated backstage as production manager, director, lighting designer and set designer in commercial theatre. He spent eight years as production manager at Oldham Coliseum and has been General Manager of Harlow Playhouse and the Lowther Pavilion in Lytham St. Annes. For the last ten years he has been back home in Scotland as Director of the Theatre Royal Dumfries – Scotland’s oldest theatre. Mark lives in Moniaive with his actress / director / writer partner Sue McCormick.

Pete Renwick

Peter has been involved in the arts since he started to organize club nights in his 20’s, had a stint as producer of Beltane Fire Festival, at the time Europe’s biggest fire festival, and worked freelance on a variety of projects such as Big Man Walking, the Edinburgh Mela and Hogmanay celebrations. Since moving to Dumfries & Galloway in 2009 he has run over 1,500 live events across the region. From 2009-2018 Pete worked with the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival as its Development Officer then its Program Director. He then had a stint away from the arts working with SURF – Scotland Regeneration Forum - in Langholm, where he supported the Tarris Valley Community buy-out. He took up role as CatStrand’s Creative Director in 2021, which is clearly one of the best small venues to be found anywhere

Luke Welch

Luke is a performer who has lived in Dumfries & Galloway since 2012. He participated in weekly drama workshops at the Studio Theatre in Moffat (formerly Moffat Youth Theatre) and has previously performed in shows and helped facilitate workshops there. Luke has been involved with several arts organisations including Performance Collective Stranraer, Paragon Music, Make Change/Collective and most recently, Bear Pursuit theatre company. From a young age, Luke has particularly enjoyed the art of comedy. Having been inspired by several comedians in recent years, he has performed stand-up comedy routines at various open mics across the country. In 2023, Luke participated in the ‘Soundwave’ project led by Liam Russell and co-wrote two songs, ‘Last Protest’ and ‘Fever’.

Alex Rigg

Alex makes sculpture, design, poetry, film and live events. His work plays with concepts of art outside its accepted form. He trained as an archaeological illustrator, blacksmith, fine-artist, dancer, writer, timber-framer and costume designer. His work is off-beat and experimental, collaborating with many leading artists and companies. He am the Artistic Director of dance-performance company called Oceanallover taking poetic work into unusual places. His work borrows from many influences and genres, making reference to film, literature and popular culture and is often linked to global and philosophical concerns that encourages the viewer to look harder at who and what they are. His work is often site-responsive, creating pieces that draw on the people and places for which they are made.

Wren Winters

Wren Winters is the Project Coordinator for The Stove Network, where they work across a range of creative projects, including The Wild Goose Festival, The What We Do Now Network, and the Print House. Outside of the Stove, Wren has worked as a development consultant for organisations such as The Wigtown Book Festival and is further passionate about creating events that celebrate the region's natural and cultural heritage. Wren began their career working as a volunteer manager and disability advocate back in the United States. They moved to Dumfries and Galloway in 2022 to pursue a master's degree in sustainable tourism, and are proud to call it home.

Jodie Rae

Jodie Robertson, performing under Jodie Rae, is a multidisciplinary artist working across music and theatre, with roots in Dumfries and Galloway. As an alternative/indie folk singer-songwriter and musician, she creates and performs original work that uses music as a form of storytelling and connection. Alongside this, she works in theatre as a performer, actor-muso, and theatre-maker, creating original work through writing and collaboration, with a focus on physical theatre, music and devised performance. Across all areas of her work, she prioritises inclusivity and accessibility, creating welcoming spaces where people of all backgrounds can engage with music, theatre, and the arts. She works both as a music practitioner and D&G Administrator for Paragon Music. She is also an ensemble member and previous Creative Producer of Performance Collective Scotland, an artist development organisation supporting emerging creatives.