The Art Station is made up of a small team of creative individuals, based in our unique former telephone exchange building in Saxmundham, Suffolk. Our team includes a network of local volunteers, artists, educators and associates – alongside a team of dedicated trustees. We hosted six creative Kickstart work placements in 21/22, and we are currently supporting a new cohort of two work placements and an internship in 23/24.

Find out a bit more about us below – and if you would like to volunteer with us, please get in touch via: [email protected] – we have lots of interesting projects to join in with, and you can gain useful experience and transferrable skills which can help with your cv,  getting your next job, or connect you to new people and a nice supportive social network.

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Our Team

Clare Palmier

Director

Clare Palmier is an artist and Director at The Art Station, leading on curating the Art and Learning Programme, the challenge of fundraising, managing the team with Emily and developing The Art Station’s exciting future.

Clare has 20 years of experience in regeneration working with organisations to create projects and achieve funding – including Bromley Bow Centre, Living Streets, Foundation for Assistive Technology, World Cancer Research Fund.

“It’s a pleasure to be working with all these brilliant artists and creatives and our team – and to be doing it here with our Saxmundham community, in rural Suffolk. ”

 

Max Clements

Programme Coordinator

Max joined The Art Station in spring 2022 and coordinates projects, events and marketing – as well as leading creative activity sessions for children, families and young people.

Max graduated from Fine Art at Falmouth Art College in 2006. Her fascination with bronze casting led her to Suffolk in 2009 where she worked as an apprentice to Laurence Edwards. She has worked at Pangolin Editions in metalwork and most recently had a career as head of Pastry at Pump Street Bakery.

Max is an abstract painter using her experience with illness and her love of landscape.

Jasmine Hammond

Assistant Programme Co-ordinator
Jasmine joined The Art Station in September 2023 as Assistant Programme Co-ordinator and completed their Bachelor’s in Arts and Humanities (Art History and English Literature) focusing on the depiction of non-European objects and peoples in European oil paintings from the 15th Century to the 20th  Century.
Working predominantly within oil painting Jasmine commonly explores themes surrounding folklore, identity and the self through their ongoing practice based in rural Suffolk. Expanding on these themes with techniques using cloth, their creative process creates an often otherworldly and eerie aesthetic.

Olivia Smithers

Creative Programme Assistant

Olivia joined The Art Station in September 2023 as a Creative Programme Assistant as part of the work placement programme. Recently graduating from Arts University Bournemouth with a degree in Fine Art, she hopes to develop skills surrounding curation and events management, whilst ensuring the delivery of a balanced and enriching arts education to the community. She also hopes to connect with other local artists.

With painting at the centre, Olivia’s practice explores vibrant energy simulated through rich colour palettes which lack tension and viscous, lustrous brushstrokes which breathe life and movement into the paintings. Taking inspiration from artists: Flora Yukhnovich, Cecily Brown and Kaye Donachie, Olivia hopes to expand her use of materiality further.

When not at The Art station, Olivia enjoys spending time with her beloved dog and cats.

Yiannoula Fernandes Cardy

Creative Programme Assistant

Yiannoula Fernandes Cardy joined The Art Station in September 2023 as a Creative Programme Assistant as part of the work placement programme.

Yiannoula is a Photographer with an interest in
Digital Marketing, Commercial Photography,
and Graphic Design.

Her work is inspired by Petra Collins,
pioneer of post-internet coming-of-age
photography, and the new wave of female
gaze-led photography.

Yiannoula is developing her skills in visual communications and design, as part of The Art Station team.

Emily Cannell

Programme Manager

Emily joined The Art Station team in Feb 2023, as Programme Manager of The Art Station’s exciting Art & Learning Programme.

Emily has a varied  background in the public and charity sector, most recently as a Heritage Linkworker at The Restoration Trust,  developing a mental health and heritage project . She is passionate about accessibility in the arts sector, and the importance of arts and culture for health and wellbeing.

Emily is also an artist, and is excited to be part of a diverse, developing network of artists in Suffolk, as supported by The Art Station.

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Our Trustees

Susan Barnet
Paul Richards
Lucy Holmes
Catherine Thorpe
Amy Stein
We’re recruiting new Trustees! Please click on the link to see our Trustee Recruitment Pack. For more details on how to apply, please contact The Art Station: [email protected].
 

Volunteers

The Art Station team is also made up of Volunteers, who play an important role in supporting our Art & Learning programme with a diverse range of tasks, such as general administration, research, marketing and communications, events, creative workshops, and walks! 

Our recent Volunteer, Cinnamon Joyce, said: “I have really enjoyed my time here, no day has been the same and I’ve had opportunities/experiences that I would never have had without the Art Station.” Cinnamon learned new transferable skills during her time at The Art Station, including “confidence in [herself], in meeting new people and working with younger members of the community, and website design skills.”             

Our current Volunteers are Freya Isaacs, current BA Fine Art student at University of Suffolk, Blythe Hawkins,  Fine Art Painting Graduate from Camberwell College of Art, and Sara Sayers, Artist and Botanical Illustrator.

If you are interested in volunteering with The Art Station team, please get in touch! We are looking for people who are welcoming, reliable, interested in the creative industries, and happy to pitch in with a range of different tasks. In return, our team will support you to develop digital skills such as using Microsoft and Adobe software, and transferable skills such as communication, working in a team, problem-solving, and organisation. We value diversity and welcome applicants from all backgrounds, ages, and abilities.   

Please get in touch with Max – [email protected] / 07927 770421 to find out more. 

We look forward to hearing from you!

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The Art Station Alumni

Jacques Swain

Jacques completed his placement with us as a Programme Assistant in November 2021. He has gone on to work in bronze casting and continues to produce his own creative work, centred around environmental themes.

On working at The Art Station: ‘It’s been really positive and it has been really engaging in all sorts of different aspects.

There’s pretty much always a new task in all different areas. It’s really quite holistic. There’s almost every aspect of art occurring here, which is great for aspiring artists on a placement. It’s not set to be solely exhibitions and things like that, but we’ve also had things like workshops or venue management and a real variety of events, from small tasks all the way up.’

Chris Reynolds

Chris worked with us as a Programme Assistant until December 2021.

He says: ‘My name is Chris, I’m 18, lived in Saxmundham all my life, and pretty new to art in general.

Having never really done anything artistic before, I started teaching myself to draw and paint with watercolours, during the first lockdowns; I mostly only do tattoo design art. I specialise in American Traditional and blackwork styles, though I’m starting to branch out to others too. I’m currently training to be a tattoo artist alongside working at The Art Station.

I’ve had a lot of fun working at The Art Station – getting to meet people, build personal skills and learn a lot of helpful things. The working environment is professional yet friendly, and a joy to be a part of.

To any other young people who want to work in the creative industry, I’d say go for it – take the plunge. It can be intimidating because there’s not always the same job security, but it’s so worth it in the end if that’s what you enjoy doing.’

Megan Villars

Meg is a qualified graphic designer and illustrator who worked with us as a Programme Assistant.

She runs the Instagram page megvcreative where she posts all of her art. Her ultimate goal with her career is to design things that bring her joy, this could be with her job or her personal projects.

Having completed her placement at The Art Station, Meg is now a Junior Graphic Designer at a brand communications company.

On working at The Art Station; ‘I would recommend The Art Station to others. For artists, it’s a very good use of space which you can alter to your creative needs and for young creative people, it’s a good stepping stone from education to the working world.

I learnt a lot about structuring a portfolio, CV and cover letter properly while working at The Art Station, which aided me in finding my next job so quickly after the placement.’

Eden Jeffery

Eden worked as a Programme Assistant and then Communications and Fundraising Assistant at the Art Station, before moving up to Norwich to work at UEA and continue her work as a writer.

She writes creatively in fantasy and horror fiction, with her career goal to be traditionally published. She writes to escape the world as much as she does to understand it, and loves reading and writing stories that spark dark or puzzling questions about the characters and world depicted.

Ethan Salmon

Ethan is a young Graphic Designer based in East Anglia, currently working as a junior designer for a human rights NGO that focuses on digital rights and freedom of expression. Alongside this he has volunteered with us at The Art Station – ​helping out with visual communication and other general activities.

Eve Grant

Eve was an Environmental Program Assistant at the Art Station, working with the Environment Co Ordinator from Saxmundham Council, where she planted trees and plants as well as weeding, litter picking, and looking after the plants they’ve planted around the local town. 

Eve also assisted with Saturday Nature and Creative Walks with local artists Hanna Varga and Jevan Watkins Jones, assisting with creative workshops for children and families to reconnect with art and nature. 

Eve is working towards being a non-machine tattoo artist. As a child she was brought up on a permaculture farm living out of society in the mountains of Portugal for ten years, where she learnt how to live off the land, and live without electricity. Eve been practicing tattooing for 4 years, and would like to make a career with her passion in the art form of tattooing without electricity.

Verity Slade

Verity joined in 2021 as Programme Manager and facilitated the delivery of The Art Station’s wide ranging art and learning programme including exhibitions, residencies, workshops and events. She managed the artist studios, co-working and tech spaces and led on marketing and communications.

Verity moved to Suffolk in 2021 having lived and worked in Canada for a few years, and in London and Brighton previously. She has worked in varied events and administration roles for the Royal College of Art, D&AD Awards and Lighthouse Arts. Verity also works as a freelance illustrator, designer and mural painter – she completed an MA in Illustration at Camberwell and has worked on projects for clients including Universal Music, the Barbican and The Washington Post.

Françesca Bignell

Programme Assistant 

Françesca Joined in July 2022 as Programme Assistant Volunteer, She has assisted on the set up and promotion of exhibitions, residencies and Workshops as part of this role. With a focus on engagement on The Art Station Twitter account, as well as learning to use the Risograph printer for exhibition handouts.

Françesca completed her Bachelors in Photography in 2018 at UoS, her artistic practice focussing on women in arts and female self-portraiture.  Under the name Françesca Alessandro she debuted her Alessa project at Candid Arts Trust. Alessa looks at identity through a mix of photographs and poetry, reflecting on sexuality, empowerment, and societal expectations.

During the pandemic she decided to go on to do a Masters in Museum Management and Practice at Ulster University, which she will graduate from in 2023. Her focus on Ethical collecting, equality and accessibility to collections.

Arimathea Warren

Programme Assistant Volunteer

Arimathea joined The Art Station in Autumn 2022 as a volunteer. She completed her BA in Fine Art at The University of Suffolk in 2020 and her MA in Curation at Norwich University of The Arts in 2022.  

Arimathea is also a practising artist and curator. Her curatorial work is based around creating interactive experiences, for both the viewers and collaborators that she works with. These experiences are influenced by her Dyslexia and the strong connection that this has with the senses, while her artistic practice frequently revolves around the use of collage and multi-media-based works, which are concerned with the concept of materiality, often resulting in a physical process that produces pieces that are visually rich in palette and texture. She often injects her own experiences of living and working with Dyslexia and Dyspraxia into her practice, allowing the viewer an insight into the emotions and thought pattern surrounding Dyslexia and Dyspraxia. 

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