We’re delighted to welcome Jemima Thomas to ACAVA, who joins the organisation as Head of Operations and Administration.

Jemima’s career direction was shaped during a year in Copenhagen, taken in the middle of her art degree. Working for Last Resort Gallery, a small gallery representing early-career Danish artists, she began to understand both the need for, and the conditions that support, emerging local artists.

At the same time, she was immersed in the city’s DIY club scene, where organisers and volunteers would move into a space, build a club from scratch and dismantle it all within about 24 hours. It was her first experience of unconventional spaces being used at scale for cultural production and community building, and of the role such spaces can play in helping artists thrive.

Returning to London, Jemima worked initially in operations at a design firm before taking a studio at SET. She went on to become Studio Manager and then Director of Studios.

Her first project was opening SET Woolwich, a 13-storey former council office tower housing 266 studios, 37 community studios, project spaces, a club and a community garden. Much of her work involved developing the systems, processes and teams needed to support a site of that scale. Once Woolwich was established, she rolled the model out across four further sites before taking responsibility for the wider SET portfolio, which by 2022 comprised eight buildings and more than 1,000 studio holders.

In 2024, Jemima moved to British Columbia to take up a maternity cover role as Interim Executive Director of a regional Arts Council on Vancouver Island. After ten years working within London’s arts scene, she was keen to understand how artists and arts infrastructure flourish outside a major cultural centre. The experience gave her a broader perspective on the conditions artists and creative communities need to thrive.

Outside work, Jemima is a keen climber, skier and hiker, and recently qualified as a yoga teacher.

A recurring theme throughout her career has been the stewardship of buildings, organisations and communities. We are delighted to welcome her to ACAVA and look forward to the experience and perspective she brings to the role.