Board
SCAN is run by a Board of Charity Trustees who are also members. Representing the diversity of skills and expertise in Scotland’s visual arts, the Board consists of art professionals whose jobs involve, amongst other things, marketing, fundraising, journalism, art education, artistic practice and curating.
Other areas of experience represented include artist-run activity, leadership in the arts, supporting community action and tackling issues such as social deprivation. Collectively, the Board provides vital knowledge and guidance for the organisation.
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Nikki Kane
Lecturer - University of Glasgow
Nikki Kane is a Lecturer in Creative Industries, based in History of Art, at the University of Glasgow. Nikki Kane She is currently researching artist-run initiatives with support from the British Art Network, and teaches courses on contemporary creative practice, cultural labour and policy, and cultural institutions. Nikki undertook an AHRC-supported PhD at the University of Edinburgh which examined the role of festivals in contemporary art careers, and prior to this she participated in CuratorLab, an international programme based at Konstfack, Stockholm and studied at Glasgow School of Art and University of Glasgow.She has presented projects and undertaken residencies in the UK and internationally, and also has over 10 years of experience working with arts and cultural organisations in project management, research and production roles, including in the development and delivery of large-scale public art projects, and working in the visual arts department at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA, researching and writing catalogue texts for an exhibition of works from the museum’s collection. -
Naoko Mabon
Freelance Curator
Naoko Mabon is a freelance curator based in Oban. Originally from Japan, Naoko has been living in Scotland since the end of 2011. Since initiating her own curatorial practice WAGON in 2014, as well as international collaborators from Japan, Taiwan, Brazil among other places, Naoko has created projects or worked with institutions or individuals across Scotland including in: Orkney, Isle of Iona, Banff, Isle of Skye, Dundee, Helmsdale, Edinburgh, Isle of Mull, Glasgow and Oban.
Motivated by her own lived experience in Scotland as an ethnic minority immigrant, the principle of “understand globally and act locally” has been demonstrated in Naoko’s practice through being affective, responsive and responsible for the historically underrepresented voices and pressing issues that are specific to a focused context, locality or community.
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Abigail Kinsella
Development Manager - Skills Development Scotland
Abigail Kinsella is a Development Manager for apprenticeships provision, working with Skills Development Scotland. Abigail has been involved in the careers information, advice, and guidance sector for many years, at a local and national level. She is well known among employability and education partnership networks, having led development of Foundation Apprenticeships for school pupils, Activity Agreement implementation for disengaged learners and supported many policy and practice projects with colleges, universities, independent training providers, trade bodies, employers and third sector organisations. Abigail has held positions with Glasgow City Council Education Services, Strathclyde University and Glasgow Caledonian University.
Abigail has a keen interest in supporting charities and has served as a trustee on the boards of Includem and Glasgow Film Theatre. She has an affinity with the visual arts and has advocated on behalf of inclusion, accessibility, and equality topics, widening access and participation for all individuals at all times.
Abigail has an expert knowledge and understanding of the education and skills landscape and is immersed in current reform within these areas. She is committed to ensuring children, young people, adults, and community groups can enjoy contemporary arts activities and events.
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Martin Newth
Head of School of Fine Art - Glasgow School of Art
Martin is an artist, academic, and has been Head of the School of Fine Art at the Glasgow School of Art since February 2024. With over 25 years of experience in Higher Education, he is passionate about collaborating with others to develop excellent, inclusive, and innovative models of education. Martin has a particular interest in the role of art schools within the creative, civic, and societal ecologies they inhabit.
As an artist, Martin’s practice encompasses photography, film, and sculptural installation. His work invites viewers to engage with the processes and mechanisms behind image creation, employing hands-on, experimental approaches that draw on the origins of photography while reflecting on how we interact with images in the digital age.
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Daniel Clark
Director – Gaada (Maternity cover for Amy Gear)
Daniel Clark is an artist whose personal practice navigates his experience of neurodivergency through print, sound, and moving image. His work is part of major UK art collections such as the V&A Word and Image Collection, and the British Library Sound & Moving Image Archive. Daniel co-founded Shetland based art organisation Gaada out of a shared passion for creativity, collaboration, and inclusivity, which builds upon his two decades of experience in DIY artist publishing.
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Juliana Capes
Visual Artist
Juliana Capes is a visual artist with a rich multidisciplinary practise. She has exhibited in various solo and group shows, recently including the Alchemy Film Festival, Edinburgh Art Festival, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and Fruitmarket Gallery.
Juliana is also Visual Describer who specialises in Visual Art, and has trained and consulted many of Scotland’s leading art organisations. Juliana has been Lead Artist on the National Galleries of Scotland’s Visual Impairment Programme since 2002, where she rethinks access to Visual Art.
As well as 20 years of professional experience in the field of participatory practise, disability and arts accessibility, Juliana also brings lived experience of neurodiversity and disability to her role, as a dyspraxic artist and the parent carer of two children who also have dyspraxia and learning disabilities.
During 2022, Juliana is undertaking a participatory residency at Cove Park as part of the Climate Beacons Project and developing new work in film, description and sculpture.
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Claire Craig
Curator - Travelling Gallery (currently on maternity leave)
Claire Craig is the curator at Travelling Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in a bus, bringing exhibitions into communities throughout Scotland. Claire brings an awareness of curating and programming for diverse audiences and the Travelling Gallery exhibitions display innovative artistic practices, representative of the international art scene.
Claire has also curated exhibitions and film programmes across the UK and Europe and has an MFA in Curating Contemporary Art from Goldsmiths University, London.
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Amy Gear
Director - Gaada (Currently on maternity leave)
Amy Gear is an artist and founding director of Gaada, a visual arts workshop and collaborative project space in Burra Isle, Shetland.
Amy contributes her multifaceted experience of the Scottish art scene which encompasses studying, lecturing, to establishing inclusive, and artist-led, community embedded practice within remote and rural contexts. Amy is also an artist in her own right, with a personal practice that explores contemporary use of Shetland dialect through printmaking, painting, drawing and writing. She has an MA from the Royal College of Art and has exhibited across the UK.
