Abi Spendlove is a visual artist based in Luton, UK. She studied Fine Art at Byam Shaw and Central Saint Martins in London and completed a Fine Art MA at the University of Hertfordshire in 2018. Her work has been exhibited internationally including New York and Tokyo. She has undertaken several public and private commissions and has experience running workshops and giving talks. Her work is included in collections including Zabludowicz, Franks Suss and Olivier von Schulthess. She joins Heritage Impact Accelerator to build on a body of work around the River Lea.

Claire Abji is an Equality Diversity and Inclusion activist and changemaker, working with organisations to create better opportunities for marginalised people. She is experienced in culture change, policy and strategy development, recruitment, coaching and organisational development. Claire has over 10 years of management expertise, working within local government, NHS, charity, and private sectors. Claire is currently serving her local community of Luton by volunteering as a Trustee for the charity Level Trust. She is also the co-founder of Unheard Luton, a community creative arts and wellness project for marginalised people living in Luton and the surrounding areas. Unheard Luton aims to create a platform for the unheard stories of Luton’s intersectional feminist and BIPOC LGBTQ+ community, whilst also connecting them and giving this community a place in Luton’s heritage narrative.

Abigail Adams is an interdisciplinary artist and political activist born and raised in Luton. Their work centres on the relationships between people and their environment, their histories, and society. With a strong belief in the power of art to radically change accepted norms and perspectives, Abigail hopes to combine their social and cultural work through the Heritage Impact Accelerator programme. By engaging Lutonians in their natural heritage, Abigail seeks to question how we interact with our green spaces and make our mark on the environment, extending this line of questioning through to how people historically have made their mark on the town through protest and community organising.

Born and brought up in London, David Landau grew up in Wembley, where he nurtured his love of writing and football stadia. The former has sustained a career in journalism that has spanned more than twenty years; the latter led to a life-long fascination with architecture. David's work took him to Luton, where he bought a period house, and discovered there was a dearth of heritage and retrofit building professionals in the town. He hopes to be a catalyst for developing those skills within the community.

Shabeena Parveen is a born and bred Lutonian. She is a graduate with a vast amount of experience from various fields. She has a passion to support and help people. She looks forward to working on the Heritage Impact Accelerator programme.

Fiona Martin is a community worker and artist, and an active member of the Luton Irish community, with experience of delivering heritage learning programmes. Her community development practice puts people first, developing projects, events and archives that tell people’s stories, focusing on viewer participation and shared experience. She has recently developed the More Luton project which includes a website hosting community archive. Fiona hopes to use a mixture of digital technology, events, and cultural traditions to engage a range of people at multiple levels.