People

Born and raised in Nottingham, Craig is a former tour manager, live sound engineer, and music producer, and worked with Tindersticks, Whycliffe, Carcass, Maria McKee and Nick Cave to name just a few. Inspired by his own experiences in the music industry, Craig founded Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies in 1994, which is now part of Nottingham Trent University. The success of Confetti led to the formation of Confetti Media Group; a suite of successful commercial businesses. Craig’s passionate about creating opportunities for young people to succeed in the creative, digital and entertainment industries and was awarded an MBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List for Services to Entrepreneurship and the Creative Industries Sector.

As Treasurer on the Board of Trustees, Sue works closely with the directors to produce annual statutory and monthly management accounts.

She is a qualified Chartered Accountant with many years’ experience in local industry working at Rolls-Royce and Thorntons before setting up her own practice to advise clients in accounts preparation and taxation. She has worked with companies in the not-for-profit sector in Nottingham for many years.

She joined the Board at Backlit in 2021, and has enjoyed the role of a Trustee, being able to bring her experience in improving financial systems, and also learning from others about the particular challenges of fundraising in the Arts sector.

Ismail Khokon is a British Bangladeshi socially engaged visual artist based in Nottingham, working to platform the experiences of communities whose members have been systematically marginalised. He believed that he could play an active role in shaping the region’s arts ecology and by using my experience and expertise to continue to support some of the most isolated and vulnerable people in our community. In addition to his artistic practice, Ismail is also the Steering Group Member for Contemporary Visual Arts Network in the East Midlands. He is an Artist member at Primary gallery and associate artist in the New Art Exchange Nottingham.

Isobel is Assistant Professor in Art History at the University of Nottingham. Her research explores how contemporary artists engage with marginalized, obscure or traumatic historical narratives. She is involved in anti-racism and equity work at the University as EDI lead for the Department of Cultural, Media and Visual Studies and a member of the School EDI Committee member, Race Equality Charter working group, and Awarding Gap Academic Advisory Group, as well as coordinator of staff-student initiatives aimed to improve inclusivity and belonging. Isobel sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Historical Fiction and the advisory board for Languages, Texts, and Society and has given keynote lectures and conference presentations nationally and internationally. Isobel also has wide experience in the commercial art world as a Partnerships Manager for an arts-focused London media organisation.

Specialising in Art Direction and Filmmaking, and with a research focus on LGBTQ+ narratives and safe-spaces, Jay Harris is a lecturer of Fashion Communication & Promotion at Nottingham Trent University, Practitioner of Design for Art Direction at the University of the Arts London and freelance Art Director. Working on projects for brands such as Ocado Retail — the world’s largest online supermarket, Charlotte Tilbury, and Shaun Leane, to name a few. 

As well as his career in Art Direction, Filmmaking is a prominent attribute of his work. producing over twenty short films and directing an award-winning queer short film, Caravaggio’s cupid, the first LGBTQ+ narrative film set within Germany’s prestigious Gemäldegalerie.

Teresa is a Senior Lecturer in Media at the University of Derby. As well as working in higher Education, Teresa has previous experience of Further Education, Adult Education and with a training agency. Her research interests include film, television, art and curation. She also delivers film introductions for independent cinemas is involved with a number of community activities, workshops and exhibitions. Teresa is a member of the MeCCSA Women’s Network and the British Art Network. She is particularly interested in issues of equality, diversity and representation within arts and media.

Roberta is passionate about digital accessibility, digital inclusion, and the environment. With over 20 years experience in marketing, Roberta has worked with both government organisations and a wide variety of brands and organisations over the years. Her experience includes Tech Champion for Websites with the Digital Culture Network and Arts Council England and mentor for Bloomberg Philanthropies guiding organisations through a digital accelerator program.