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Our Team

Our Staff

A picture of Eileen our CEO. She has shoulder length brown curly hair. She has Teddy the dog in her lap. He is brown and black with beautiful large eyes.

Eileen Branagh – Chief Executive Officer

Email: eileen@openartsni.org

Eileen has been working in the arts sector for nearly 25 years. She took up her position as CEO in April 2013. Prior to this she was Manager with The Beat Carnival for 10 years. Previous to working with Beat Carnival, she was Production Manager with Open Arts on the large-scale spectacle for the Opening of the Special Olympics in Dublin, 2003 and also worked with numerous other festivals.

In 2018 she completed CO3s ‘Excelling in Leadership’ programme and in 2019, she achieved a Post Graduate Certificate (Distinction) in Executive Leadership with Ulster University through the Creating Futures programme, funded by Belfast City Council.

Beverley McGeown – Musical Director

Email: bev@openartsni.org

Beverley has worked with Open Arts since 1995. She is the primary tutor for Javanese Gamelan in Northern Ireland, having trained in Indonesia in 1995 and 2002. She is Director of the Open Arts Community Choir, which she has led over the past 25 years to great success and accolades. She also leads music sessions for adults with disabilities, including those living with dementia, and is the lead musician for Open Arts’ In Tune project, funded by Children in Need.

This is a picture of Jemma. She has dark hair with a fringe. She is wearing bright red lipstick. She is smiling.

Jemma Robinson – Finance & Programme Officer

Email: jemma@openartsni.org 

Jemma Robinson is our Finance and Programme Officer and has been with Open Arts since 2015. She has over 15 years’ experience in the arts sector.

In 2024, she became the only qualified Arts Award Adviser in Northern Ireland to assess Arts Awards for levels Discover, Explore, Bronze and Silver, specialising in working with SEND young people.

In 2024, Jemma also completed the Inclusive Cultures programme through Clore Leadership and in June 2023 she completed an ILM Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management through NICVA.

She studied music production at South Eastern Regional College, Bangor and at Queens University, Belfast, where she completed a BSc in Music Technology specialising in electronic music composition for film.

She is also a member of the Open Arts Community Choir.

Mark has blonde hair and is wearing thin rimmed glasses and a black jacket.

Mark Cousins – Communication & Development Assistant

Email: mark@openartsni.org

Mark graduated from Ulster University with a degree in Fine Arts with diploma. His specialisation has been in sculpture and performance arts, and he had brought his flair for the arts into his previous position with the University of Atypical.

As an artist on the Autism spectrum, his passion for working in the Arts and Disability sector has been fuelled by his desire to create more self advocation so that those with disabilities can have space to speak up for themselves.

Artists, Arts Access Assistants and Volunteers

Open Arts uses a bank of professional, experienced and trained community artists to facilitate our various classes and workshops. The artists, who are involved in the delivery of our programme are some the most experienced facilitators in working with disabled people in Northern Ireland.  Open Arts also uses Arts Access Assistants on a sessional basis. Arts Access Assistants are engageed specifically to ensure that any participant who requires additional support has access to it and can participate to the best of their ability in a safe and enjoyable environment. Volunteers are mostly referred through the Action Mental Health programme, New Horizons, which helps people to overcome the effects of mental ill health and in many cases return to work.

Our Board

Chairperson, Andrea Hope

Vice-Chairperson, TBC

Treasurer, Ian Lindsay
Secretary, Shane Finnegan
Judith McConville
Katherine Hughes
Sinead O’Donnell