Lydia Bauman is an internationally recognised landscape painter and freelance art history lecturer. She has lectured widely for adult audiences including at the Tate Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA as well as the National Gallery in London where she works as a guide. She has had around 30 solo exhibitions in the UK and abroad with numerous private and corporate buyers including Gordon Ramsey and the Dorchester.  Lydia brings regularly our groups to discover the collection of the National Gallery through thematic tours. Examples of these tours are: Woman’s portraits, The Nude, Animals in Art, Symbolism in Art, Music in Art.

Following her Masters at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, Arianne Levene worked at Sotheby’s, UBS Wealth Management in Art Banking, and for Lord Rothschild before becoming a Contemporary Art Advisor. In 2006 she opened the Art Advisory Service, New Art World, with an expertise in Chinese, South Asian, Middle Eastern and Iranian art. She has curated numerous exhibitions including a major retrospective of Rashid Rana’s oeuvre at the musée Guimet in Paris. Arianne brings regularly our groups to visit studios of both emerging and internationally recognized artists as well as to exhibitions and contemporary art fairs.

Ben Street is a former A level teacher in Art History who is now working freelance.  He is a Gallery educator/lecturer at The National Gallery, MoMA, Guggenheim NY, National Portrait Gallery, Hayward Gallery as well as a writer, a freelance curator, a course leader and an art fair co-director.  With Ben, we have designed a series of thematic Lecture Tours at the National Portrait Gallery. The concept of these Lecture tours is very interactive. Five or six paintings from various periods are selected by Ben who is introducing the artist and sitter and the historical, artistic and political environment. Themes include Writers and Poets, Actors and Performers, Travelers and Explorers, Self portraits, Celebrities, Musicians and Composers.

 Akemi Solloway Tanaka is the daughter of an old samurai family and grew up immersed in the traditional arts and culture of Japan. She currently lives in Richmond and splits her time between the UK and Japan. She is a professional lecturer and consultant of Japanese culture, and leads study tours to Japan each spring and autumn. She is an expert in Japanese etiquette and customs. Akemi founded the Anglo-Japanese Anime and Manga Cultural Association in order to aid further understanding and appreciation of Japanese culture. She is also a leading member of the Bunkasai Anglo-Japanese cultural and language exchange culture club.

RJ Rushmore created Vandalog in 1998, a blog entirely dedicated to street art which became an authority in this field. He collects street art alongside his dad and is currently a student in Haverford College, Philadelphia. When he is in town, RJ brings our group in Shoreditch to show what’s new in street art. Otherwise, it is his partner Stephanie. who loves street art and is following all new developments as Managing Editor of the blog. Stephanie is completing a Master’s Degree in Contemporary Arts from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

Nicola Pozzani has studied Perfume Science with Jean-Claude Ellena, in-house perfumer of Hermès, at Università dell’Immagine in Milan, masters about the five senses. He has worked on sensory projects and training in the perfume industry and is also an experienced qualified teacher. His area of interest is perfume intended as an art form, creative language and source of knowledge. For our group, Nicola has designed a series of workshops to help us discover the connections between perfume and the other senses.

 Laurent Gerbeaud is one of the new generation of Belgian chocolatiers. He marries chocolate, fruit and spices since 2001. During a prolonged stay in China, he discovers the rich realm of Asian tastes and smells and begins to coat delicious kumquats with dark chocolate: an unexpected delicacy. Back in Belgium he passionately continues to create tasty combinations : “I do only what I like. When I am developing products, my only guide is my personal taste”. Grandson of a pastry chef and baker, Laurent has a degree in medieval history as well as in chocolate and pastry. For us, he has designed a series of tasting, workshops and team building events around chocolate and its ingredients.

Jessica Meuriot is half French, half British and lives in Paris. She has an international experience as an artistic coordinator. She is specialised in promoting artistic events, mainly in music. She has worked as public relations and sponsoring consultant for Warsaw Chamber Opera. She has also worked at the Cairo Opera House in Egypt, collaborating with East West art Promotion Office. She has a passion for languages and speak also Spanish, Polish and Arabic. In Paris, she currently focuses on promoting Olivier Messiaen’s organ works.

Eija Hakkinen is an accomplished events professional with over 15 years of experience in organising and managing varied events globally from UK and Europe to US, Middle East, Far East and Africa. She has worked within the following industries: conferences/meetings, financial services, media/publishing, fashion, sports, arts and charity sector and has established great connections and relationships with suppliers and venues world wide. Eija has passion for arts & culture as well as for sports and travelling. She has traveled extensively in over 60 countries. Currently she is managing events within the private wealth management sector as well as managing an international fundraising polo tournament. Eija regularly comes to our events and is always keen to collaborate with us on our corporate event projects.