Riaz is the newest member of the KC team having joined us in June 2024 however Riaz has been involved with the organisation since 2018, championing the first Keighley Arts and Film Festival in 2019, becoming a trustee in 2020 and regularly supporting events and volunteering his time. Having studied film editing at the National Film and Television School before embarking on his career as a Film Editor, Riaz has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to film and production, and he continues to edit both drama and documentary. He has had a recent focus on feature documentaries about musicians and Riaz’s films have won a number of awards, and Riaz himself is a BAFTA nominee. As an experienced creative, Riaz will oversee Keighley Creative’s organisational development and transition to a permanent base. His brief will include working with East Street Arts, which is due to take over the lease of the former Sunwin House building on Hanover Street, with Keighley Creative as its tenant from 2026. Riaz will work to build relationships with organisations, including Bradford Council, Keighley Town Council, Keighley Business Improvement District, Bradford 2025, and the Towns Fund board and its long-term plan for the town. He will also develop a fundraising strategy for the organisation that secures its sustainability and long-term future.

Paula Clark has worked for over 25 years as an artist, performer, creative director and executive producer. She has developed and realised multi-disciplinary, co-creation and talent development projects for young people and adults in community, education, criminal justice, theatre and arts settings. Most recently she has worked with Creative Scene, York St John University, York Theatre Royal, Pilot Theatre, ARC Stockton and Plaines Plough. She is also co-founder and Creative Director of female-led creative projects company Bolshee CIC. All of her creative endeavours have a strong focus on social justice and sharing joy. Paula knows from her own lived experiences the power that access to arts and culture can have to improve the lives and wellbeing of people and communities. Paula wants to level the playing field by creating programmes that remove barriers, amplify voices and bring communities and new audiences together. She believes that this can be achieved through strategic and innovative partnerships and dynamic collaboration, but most importantly by connecting with people, listening and having good conversations. She wants to find out more about what people from Keighley care about and what makes them tick! Paula is delighted to be joining the Keighley Creative team at a time of great ambition and exciting change and cannot wait to get to know Keighley and its residents even better.

Cathryn joined Keighley Creative in 2022 as Festival & Events Coordinator and was made Events & Operations Manager in 2025. Prior to her work with Keighley Creative, she had experience working in outreach through her role at Liverpool Hope Theatre Company working in schools, nursing homes and prisons and experience working with communities as a key worker in Sheffield. Cathryn has a passion and care for Keighley’s communities and local stories and is interested in how arts can regenerate spaces. She has a degree in Drama & Theatre Studies and a passion for music, theatre and making events as inclusive and accessible as possible. She makes sure there is something for everyone in our events programme. Cathryn has supported a variety of projects at Keighley Creative, including Keighley Arts & Film Festival, The Mega Drawing Box, I Am Brill, Pledges to the Landscape and has most recently led on Rombald’s Rocks: Keighley Sculpture Trail. Cathryn is the person you’ll chat to if you email us, and the person to contact if you’d like to volunteer with us.

Tracy’s career started working in schools in Keighley as a playleader, teacher and early years specialist with a strong focus on the arts. Then she moved into working as Learning and Outreach Officer for Bradford Museums and Galleries. Her role was to help audiences connect with the collections and temporary art exhibitions, which included planning and delivery of the Schools Education Programme. “My role for Bradford Museums directly links to the work I will be doing at Keighley Creative. I organised key events for museums and galleries such as the Yorkshire regional launch of ‘The Big Draw’ and the Schools Linking Project celebration day, which was developed to help promote community cohesion.” Tracy worked in this role for 10 years and then moved to work for Bradford Council working on various re-development projects across the Keighley & Bradford District. It is clear to see Tracy’s passion for working with people and the arts, not just through her career but also in her free time.

Lauren joined the team in 2024 and her role is to work with community groups in a two-year project run by Bradford Arts Centre. Prior to this role, Lauren has worked and volunteered in Bradford and Keighley’s arts and culture sector for two years. This has included working in museums and galleries, producing art exhibitions and events, and supporting local talents with their creative endeavours. She is also a visual artist, with a degree in Fine Art from Newcastle University. Her goal for Keighley is to work with communities across the district who are already doing fantastic work with their residents, as well as building relationships with communities who are currently under-represented. She wants to help them explore and connect with their heritage stories, in fun and creative ways. “I want to really highlight Keighley in 2025. So much stuff is going to be happening over this part of the district, so we’ll hopefully be bringing people across into the Keighley to see how amazing it is.”

Naseem is an artist and studio holder at Keighley Creative. She creates large scale sculpture and installations from her studio and tours them. Alongside her work as an artist she writes and delivers audience participation projects for education and consultation. She is excited to see Keighley Creative develop into an arts hub that draws on the town’s heritage and creates a vibrant project space for artists, schools and the wider community… So many possibilities!

Emily joined Keighley Creative as part time Financial administrator in Jan 2024. She lives nearby in Menston with her daughters and the family’s crazy black cat, Mojo! For the past 6 years Emily has worked as the Business Manager for a local charity preschool. Prior to this she ran her own successful children’s cookery business for 10 years. In her spare time Emily volunteers for a theatre local society in the trustee role of treasurer and she loves reading, walking, listening to music.

Steve is a studio holder and photographer based at Keighley Creative, and the brains behind everything we build! From the studios, to the gallery, to our most recent moveable drawing boards in the Project Space, Steve has worked out how and made it happen, using recycled materials wherever he can. Having worked for the last 15 years for arts charities like Fabric and East Street Arts, Steve can turn his hand to pretty much anything, and has helped countless artists realise their ideas.

Carine Brosse is a multi-disciplinary artist and gallery owner who has worked delivering creative workshops to a range of people for many years. She is a facilitator at our Monday Creative sessions, offering arts and crafts sessions, for people and their families affected by conditions such as Alzheimer’s, and at our Wednesday Creative sessions, which welcome those experiencing loneliness, social isolation or are struggling with their mental health.

Ailsa is a highly experienced art teacher and therapist with a rich knowledge of delivering creative workshops for people living with neurological conditions like dementia and those being negatively affected by their mental health. She leads the Arts for Brain Health programme at Keighley Creative which involves organising our Monday and Wednesday Creative groups, offering a non-judgemental, calm environment for people who may benefit from creative therapy.