Hannah Corbett OBE - CEO, Acme

Acme is a charity which supports artists. By providing the time, space and financial assistance needed to practice, its aims to enable artists to take greater creative risks. Started by a group of art school graduates in 1972 as a housing association, Acme converted over 300 homes earmarked for demolition into work/live units for artists and their families across East London. Since 2006, Acme has pioneered the creation of new artist studios as part of residential developments. Acme is now the largest provider in England, providing studio space for over 700 artists in Greater London. In addition, Acme’s residency and awards programme will benefit 66 artists in 2015/16. Acme does not rely on public funding.

Hannah Corbett, OBE was appointed Acme’s Chief Executive in January 2016 from the civil service. She previously served as Commissioner General and Director for the UK at the Milan Expo 2015 commissioning and delivering an artist-led, multi-award-winning UK Pavilion and international trade and investment programme promoting UK creative strengths around the world. The Pavilion was the UK’s top paid visitor attraction of 2015, attracting 3.3 million visitors in 6 months. Prior to this, Hannah held a wide range of senior roles in the UK government and international organisations, specialising in global economic and foreign policy issues. In 2003, Hannah authored the original concept paper for European Neighbourhood Policy. Hannah has been been Trustee/Board member of High House Production Park since 2016.