Gallery team

Dr Outi Remes, Gallery Director at New Ashgate

Nicola Lightfoot, Art Consultant, Textiles & Glass, Angels

Emily Cranny, Art Consultant: Jewellery | Gallery Administrator: Head of Stock

Freda James, Art Consultant: Ceramics

Charlotte Karin Bull, Art Consultant: Cards

Outi Remes, Gallery Director

Together with the trustees, Outi leads the service, strategic direction and organisational objectives of the Gallery as the educational charity. She has around twenty years of experience of the sector; before joining the team at the New Ashgate Gallery, she worked as the Head of Exhibitions at South Hill Park Arts Centre, Berkshire.

Outi was awarded a PhD from the University of Reading and she has also lectured and worked for Richmond American International University in London, Birkbeck College, the University of London, the University of Reading and the Randolph Macon Woman's College, Reading. She is a steering committee member of the Museums and Exhibitions Group and the Association for Art History. Outi is the editor of three art books: 'Conspiracy Dwellings: Surveillance in Contemporary Art' (with Pam Skelton), 'Performativity in the Gallery: Staging Interactive Encounters' (with Laura MacCulloch & Marika Leino) and 'Crossing Borders: Translation and Nostalgia in Contemporary Art' (with Ming Turner).

Nicola Lightfoot, Art Consultant: Textiles & Glass | Angels

Nicola joined the New Ashgate Gallery in 2019. With nine years of experience within the creative industries, she leads the curation of glass and textiles craft collections and is responsible for the development of the Ashgate Angels scheme.

Nicola has extensive project management experience. In 2016, she supported artists Mary Branson and Adam Aaronson to produce ‘New Dawn’, a permanent art installation situated in Westminster. More recently, she implemented digital solutions and blended approaches for delivering a series of community activities during the 2020 lockdown to provide high-quality craft provision for the local community.

Nicola has also worked as the Craft Town Cordinator for the Farnham Town Council.

Nicola graduated from De Montfort University in 2013 with a BA (Hons) in Design Crafts, focusing on glass as her main specialism, and possesses an MA in Cultural and Arts Management with Distinction from the University of Winchester.

Emily Cranny, Art Consultant: Jewellery | Gallery Administrator: Head of Stock

Emily graduated from Falmouth University in 2014 with a first class BA (hons) degree in Fine Art. She joined the New Ashgate initially as a volunteer, before becoming the Gallery Administrator: Head of Stock in 2019. In 2020, she also joined the consultancy team. She leads the curation of the jewellery collection.

Freda James, Art Consultant: Ceramics

Freda joins the New Ashgate in 2022. Having previously worked here as a volunteer, she now returns, bringing the added experience of running her own Art Gallery which was known in particular for ceramics. Freda practices a number of disciplines and brings a wealth of experience to the New Ashgate Gallery.

Charlotte Karin Bull: Art Consultant: Cards

Charlotte joined our art consultancy team in 2022, after graduating from the University for the Creative Arts Farnham in 2021, renowned for long-established hand-crafted skills. Achieving a first class BA (hons) degree in Textile Design, she is currently undertaking a Master in Textiles at the Royal College of Art continuing her passion for materiality, tradition, and innovation. She leads the curation of cards.

Vicky Rowsell, Bookkeeper

Vicky joined the gallery in 2016, Vicky has spent many years bookkeeping working and still works within the construction industry, now also working for the New Ashgate Gallery. Vicky says working for the gallery although challenging and very busy at times has made a very pleasant and welcome change to the very different challenges of the construction industry.

Board of Trustees

Join our team! Information about volunteering

Find about about this platform for any individual wanting to gain experience working in the creative sector. We are always looking for enthusiastic gallery volunteers who wish to either support a local arts organisation and/or gain experience.