Dr Ella S Mills has worked and studied in the contemporary art industry and academia for 20 years. Her research projects and speaking invitations have involved organisations such as the National Gallery, V&A, Royal Academy, Bluecoat Liverpool and Modern Art Oxford. She has published widely including for Art Monthly, Journal of Contemporary Painting, and exhibition catalogues for Turner Prize winner Lubaina Himid and nominees Ingrid Pollard and Claudette Johnson. Ella was Post-Doctoral Researcher on the Black Artists and Modernism Project, led by Sonia Boyce, a project culminating in the BBC4 documentary Whoever Heard of a Black Artist. She is currently Associate Lecturer in Fine Art and History of Art of the University of Plymouth and creative director of curating practice talking on corners with artist printmaker Lorna Rose. 

Vashti Cassinelli is a contemporary art curator, founder of Southcombe Barn, an artist residency, retreat and gallery space creating an inspiring, nurturing and grounded environment for artists to develop ideas and connections between landscapes, communities, here and beyond borders. Southcombe Barn is committed to fairer representation in the arts and supports early, through to established, career artists. Within Southcombe Barn we have a range of ecosystems including wildflower meadows, temperate rainforest woodland, ponds and streams. Set within the Dark Skies Reserve, nights can be spent gazing up at star-filled skies and sunsets and sunrises enjoyed from nearby tors. The Dartmoor National Park has incredible walks and wild swimming spots.