The Team

Meet the faces behind Folded… Each with their own creative practice and link to the South Lakes, these are the people who have brought the project together.

Portrait of Co-Producer: Hannah Kessler

Co-Producer: Hannah Kessler

Hannah’s background is in music. They have been writing songs and performing for 8 years, and organising events for 5. 

They are fascinated by DIY endeavours and aim to create a lasting community of motivated and committed creators in Cumbria, to foster a can-do atmosphere, where opportunities are shared, work is created and connections are made. 

Their long-term project currently revolves around facilitating crafting and practical workshops on a farm in Eskmeals. With that they aim to recruit makers who haven’t necessarily run a workshop before, and work with them to help them produce a valuable programme.

@hannahrkay

Portrait of Co-Producer: Marisa Crane

Co-Producer: Marisa Crane

Marisa is a mixed-media artist based in Kendal who graduated from the Ruskin School of Art in 2018. As well as co-producing the zine, she is a Creative Communities Connector at Barra Culture in Barrow. Her practice is research based, exploring a performative understanding of temporality, memory, and spaces. These are examined through a neurodivergent, gendered gaze, with many of her pieces exploring performance, identity, resistance and humour.     

She has a background in theatre (mostly in set and costume design), as well as yoga and museum studies.

@marisacraneart

Portrait of Staff Writer: Chim Chirwa

Staff Writer: Chim Chirwa

Chim is a multimedia Journalist based in Manchester and grew up in the lakes. She is an activist and youth mentor at Anti Racist Cumbria.

Chim’s focus is in music arts and culture and has written for Metro and done editorial work for Blink. In her spare time you’ll probably find Chim watching documentaries, writing poetry and listening to music.

@chim_chirwa

Portrait of Resident Illustrator and Co-Producer: Bethan Thorsby

Resident Illustrator and Co-Producer: Bethan Thorsby

Bethan is an illustrator and designer based in the South Lakes. With its beginnings as a spark during mental-health recovery, her drawing centric practice builds a bridge between modernity and nature. Her work observes and responds to popular culture and social history: a cumulative sum of her studies in Art History, Curating and Graphic Design. She believes in working small, personal and local to uplift and affect positive, grass-roots change in society. With an aim to bring the high arts down to earth, she hopes Folded Zine will encourage young Cumbrian creatives to grow, with an open-minded, free and uninhibited approach to arts.

@sporadicillustration

Portrait of Digital Content Executive and Co-Producer: Arran Wylde-Eccles

Digital Content Executive and Co-Producer: Arran Wylde-Eccles

Based in Manchester, Arran is a writer from the Lakes. He likes to write comedy, drama and all the strange things in between.

He started off writing short novels in his Year 2 diary and has since won awards for his work. These days, however, he prefers to focus his talents on radio drama and theatre.

In his spare time, you’ll either catch him on a walk, cooking a roast, or listening to a random podcast.

@arranw_e

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