Grants and Programmes Manager
After starting his career in investment banking, Ashton followed his passion for the arts to provide professional services to a range of cultural clients with a focus on but not limited to grassroots organisations including The Nest Collective, Stour Space, Soundcrash, Hackney WickED, The Song Collectors Collective, focusing on organisational development, events and festival production, music programming, fundraising, events management, community engagement, marketing as well as strategic and financial planning.
His most recent role at Kensington and Chelsea Council used the arts to positively impact people, place and communities. He helped to develop the Council’s approach to piloting new ways of working with arts organisations and supported delivery of the Council’s festivals and wider creative learning programming with a focus on arts and health, public art and cultural placemaking. Ashton has a background developing music programming that supports and empowers new generations of song collectors to conserve oral culture within their communities.
Ashton is the Foundation’s Grants & Programme Manager, which involves overseeing development of a portfolio of grant programmes, collaborations and partnerships as part of the Foundation’s investment in arts and culture.
Music, Economics & Nature
Ashton lives in Leytonstone. When not outdoors e.g. Epping Forest, Wanstead Park or the Lee Valley, he can be found exploring music venues around East London.
Ashton once managed over 300 music events in a year as a part-time job…..the exact number remains a blur to this day!