Yinka Ilori MBE - Artist & Designer

Yinka Ilori is a multi-disciplinary artist and designer whose bold visual language draws on his British-Nigerian heritage to convey new narratives through contemporary design. Drawing on Nigerian parables and verbal traditions, Ilori touches on a multitude of themes that resonate with a global audience.

His work is underpinned by the belief that art and design should be accessible to all. Humorous, provocative and playful, his projects demonstrate how design can bring together communities and have a positive impact on society, evoking a sense of joy and optimism. Often using the city as his canvas, he reimagines spaces to encourage a sense of community and invites audiences to engage and participate in his work and its surroundings. A graduate of London Metropolitan University’s BA in Furniture and Product Design, Ilori’s work has been showcased globally through solo and group exhibitions, public commissions and set and exhibition design.

Charlotte Appleyard - Director of Development & Business Innovation, Royal Academy of Arts

Charlotte Appleyard is Director of Development & Business Innovation at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. She previously worked at Outset Contemporary Art Fund, and in the curatorial departments at The National Gallery in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In 2012 she published Corporate Art Collections: A Handbook a history and survey of corporate collections. She sits on the boards of the ICA and New Entrepreneurs Foundation and is a graduate of Oxford University, the Courtauld Institute and Harvard Business School.