Our Team

Hannah Ray

Executive Director

Hannah has lots of experience working within carnival arts and on-site specific works for events. She loves designing, creating, and making. She has a broad-based artistic skill set which she developed since her training at Central St Martins and Bath Spa University, graduating with a BA Hons in fine art painting.
Prior to working at the New Carnival, Hannah worked as a teacher of art and photography at Isle of Wight College, where she undertook her Cert Ed teacher training.
As well as her creative skills, she is also key to the strategic vision of New Carnival. She loves helping people to engage with the arts and contributing to community events.

Gemma Mallinson

Director of Engagement and Development

Gemma has over ten years experience working as a Primary School Teacher, specialising in the Early Years and Key Stage 1 curriculums. Gemma took part in the first Ryde Arts Parade 20 years ago and has always loved getting involved with carnivals and outdoor celebratory arts events. For many years she worked as a freelance artist supporting New Carnival with the IOW Mardi Gras and all their other events and in 2022 joined the core team. She is also a visual artist painting and exhibiting work regularly.

Abigail Mearns

Office Manager

Abigail's varied background covers a little bit of everything from film and folklore studies, professional nannying, corporate central functions, and novel writing. Originally from the United States, Abigail is relatively new to the island having moved here in 2021 after more than a decade in Birmingham. She co-founded one of Birmingham's longest running community knitting groups and is keen to replicate that experience here. Her love of wool and fibre is matched only by her love of spreadsheets, so she has found a perfect fit as our Office Manager.

Abigail is responsible for the day to day running of the office, information management, and general admin.

Kai Davies

Events Manager

Kai has been brought up going to all of the Island events, carnivals and festivals starting his love of circus from an extremely young age. His 1st big fire show was at 12 years old and he's spent the last decade performing and teaching circus skills to people of all ages across the island.

He loved having the opportunity to perform with New Carnival at their fantastic dark skies event (after a hiatus because of the Pandemic) and then did training to take workshops with them too. 

When the chance to work with The New Carnival Company and Ventnor Exchange came up Kai jumped at it and felt the job was made for him!

Nina Swallow

Youth Project Coordinator

Nina is our Youth Project Coordinator for Isle of Creativity our regular youth group, and our broader youth offer including the Trash to Trend Sustainable Youth Fashion Show. She brings a wealth of experience from managing large-scale public events, festivals, and more intimate gatherings like parties and weddings. A trained youth worker, youth therapist, and children & Young people's Yoga practitioner, she loves to turn creative ideas into engaging projects for young people. Nina is also a parish councillor and serves on the local youth project committee, and project director of LGBT CIC Queer & Now. Based on the Isle of Wight with her wife and two teenage sons, outside of work, she is passionate about being outdoors, sea swimming, and traveling.