Brits in the Big Apple

After years of working within the members-only club scene in London, Alan Linn saw a space in the market for a club that catered specifically to New York City's abundant creative community.

In 2007 he came to the US and opened Norwood, a now-bustling five-story club with more than 1,000 members ranging from 21 to 80 years old. Its ranks include architects, fashion designers, musicians, media moguls, and art collectors.

Linn's number-one tip for making it through the selection process is simple: "Be curious." - Insider

Steve Ellis is the EVP, of Ad Strategy and Business development at ViacomCBS, responsible for working with the Ad Solutions team to transform the advertising business at the television and media conglomerate.

Steve spent several years as a musician and was signed to painful and unsuccessful recording contracts by both independent and major labels...

Originally from England, Steve moved to the USA in 1988 to attend the Wharton School of Business, where he earned a BSC in Economics and Management.

Below the surface of Shantell Martin’s signature black and white drawings is an artists’ inquiry into the role of artist and viewer, where a work of art is more than an object of admiration disconnected from its inception. With a meditative process defined by an uninhibited flow, her compositions embody her internal state and the impermanence of the world around her. Exploring themes such as intersectionality, identity, and play, Martin is a cultural facilitator, forging new connections between fine art, education, design, philosophy, and technology.

In addition to prestigious solo shows at some of the most renowned art institutions including the 92Y Gallery in New York City, the iconic Albright Knox Gallery, and the MoCADA Museum, Martin has carved a path for herself that is as much intellectual as a producer and visual artist. During her two year tenure as an MIT Media Lab Visiting Scholar, Martin collaborated with the social computing group to use drawing as a medium to explore the interaction of social processes with physical spaces.

At the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, Martin created a large-scale wall installation and worked with the Institute’s research group to explore how visual and computerized storytelling might influence media and technology innovation.

A fashion and design icon in her own right, Martin has collaborated with iconic brands such as Nike, Vitra, Max Mara, Tiffany & Co., and in 2018, Puma launched a global capsule collection featuring her drawings. Martin has collaborated with legendary artists such as Pulitzer Prize-winning performance artist Kendrick Lamar and acclaimed designer Kelly Wearstler. In late 2018, she was asked to collaborate with the prestigious New York City Ballet, where she created large-scale drawings in the performance hall and foyer of the Lincoln Center for the company’s celebrated Art Series. She continues to teach as an adjunct professor at NYU Tisch ITP (Interactive Telecommunications Program), where she works with her students to push the boundaries of storytelling, visual art, and technology.

Follow Shantell on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Clive Gillinson became Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall in July 2005, having been appointed the previous season. He is responsible for developing the artistic concepts for  Carnegie Hall presentations in its three halls—the celebrated Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage (cap. 2804), innovative Zankel Hall (cap. 600), and intimate Weill Recital Hall (cap. 268)— representing up to 170 performances each season, ranging from orchestral concerts, chamber music, solo recitals, to jazz, world, and popular music. He oversees the management of all aspects of the world-renowned venue, including strategic and artistic planning, resource development, education, finance, and administration and operations for the Weill Music Institute, which taps the resources of Carnegie Hall to bring music education and social impact programs to more than 800,000 people in the New York City metropolitan region, across the United  States, and around the world each year.

Since his arrival in New York, Mr. Gillinson has worked to build upon the quality, creativity,  diversity, and extraordinary history for which Carnegie Hall is known worldwide. Under his leadership, Carnegie Hall has embarked upon many bold new directions in its concert and education programming, including augmenting and integrating current offerings to create large-scale multi-cultural citywide festivals. Partnering with many of the greatest cultural institutions in the City, the festivals use the full range of Hall’s artistic and educational resources to take audiences on journeys of discovery that extend beyond single performances and concert series to encompass theater, literature, dance, the visual arts, talks, and film. Carnegie Hall’s first major international festival, Berlin in Lights, was presented in November 2007, exploring the vibrant city that is Berlin today. It was followed by two city-wide festivals examining the dynamic culture and distinctive history of American culture—Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds in fall 2008 and Honor! A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy in spring 2009.  Ancient Paths, Modern Voices, exploring Chinese music and culture took place in fall 2009.  These were followed by JapanNYC, an ambitious two-part festival in December 2010 and spring  2011; Voices from Latin America in November/December 2012; Vienna: City of Dreams featuring the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna State Opera in February/March 2014; Ubuntu: Music and Arts of South Africa in October/November 2014; La Serenissima: Music and  Arts from the Venetian Republic in February 2017; The 60’s: The Years that Changed America in January-March 2018; and Migrations: The Making of America in March-April 2019. Voices of  Hope, Carnegie Hall’s first-ever digital festival, will take place in April 2021.

Mr. Gillinson served as Chairman of the Association of British Orchestras; was one of the founding Trustees of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts; and was founding Chairman of the Management Committee of the Clore Leadership Programme. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in the 1999 New Year Honours List and received the 2004 Making Music Sir Charles Grove Prize for his outstanding contribution to  British music. Mr. Gillinson was appointed Knight Bachelor in the Queen's Birthday Honours  List 2005, the only orchestra manager ever to be honored with a Knighthood.

Brought to you by the British Consulate General, New York. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Iconic British psychedelic pop legends The Zombies have returned to celebrate their long-awaited Induction into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  After receiving their 4th nomination in 5 years, the support for The Zombies’ induction among the public and their peers was undeniable - the band placed 4th in the public online poll with over 330,000 votes, while even fellow nominee John Prine called for their induction before his own in a Billboard interview.  On March 29, 2019 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, The Zombies joined Stevie Nicks, Radiohead, The Cure, Def Leppard, Janet Jackson, and Roxy Music as the 2019 Class of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  Fittingly, the Induction Ceremony took place exactly 50 years to-the-day after The Zombies’ classic “Time of the Season” first hit #1 on the charts in America.

Never content to only look back, and despite a busy touring schedule, The Zombies are also in the studio recording the follow-up to their 2015 Billboard-charting album, Still Got That Hunger. Led by founding members, vocalist Colin Blunstone and keyboardist Rod Argent, The Zombies’ 21st-Century line-up features Steve Rodford on drums, renowned session guitarist Tom Toomey, and the newest member, Søren Koch, who joined the band following the untimely passing of their beloved bassist Jim Rodford (formerly of ARGENT and The Kinks) in early 2018.

The second U.K. band following the Beatles to score a #1 hit in America, The Zombies infiltrated the airwaves with the sophisticated melodies, breathy vocals, choral back-up harmonies and jazzy keyboard riffs of their 1960’s hit singles “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No.” Ironically, the group broke-up just prior to achieving their greatest success – the worldwide chart-topping single “Time of the Season,” from their swan-song album  Odessey & Oracle, ranked #100 in Rolling Stone’s ‘500 Greatest Albums of All Time.’  To this day, generations of new bands have cited The Zombies’ work as pop touchstones, and the band continues to be embraced by new generations of fans.

Following the break-up of the original band, lead vocalist Colin Blunstone went on to develop an acclaimed solo career (with hits including "Say You Don't Mind," "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted", and “Old & Wise” with Alan Parsons Project) and keyboardist/songwriter Rod Argent rocked ‘70’s arenas with his eponymous band ARGENT (“Hold Your Head Up,” “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll To You”), but the legend of The Zombies continued to take on a life of its own.  By the start of the new Millennium, Blunstone and Argent were inspired to resurrect The Zombies.

Andrew Bolton joined The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan  Museum of Art in 2002, as Associate Curator, was named Curator in  2006, and become Curator in Charge in January 2016 upon the retirement of his predecessor, Harold Koda. Mr. Bolton was named the  Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute in March 2018,  when the position was endowed.

Mr. Bolton worked alongside Mr. Koda on exhibitions including  Dangerous Liaisons (2004), Chanel (2005), Poiret (2007), and  Schiaparelli and Prada (2012). In addition, he has curated AngloMania  (2006), Superheroes (2008), American Woman (2010), Alexander  McQueen: Savage Beauty (2011), Punk (2013), China: Through the  Looking Glass (2015), Manus x Machina (2016), Rei Kawakubo /Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between (2017), Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination (2018), Camp: Notes on Fashion (2019),  and About Time: Fashion and Duration (2020).

Heavenly Bodies attracted more than 1.65 million visitors to The Met  Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters, making it The Met’s most visited exhibition. Previous exhibitions Bolton curated are also among The  Met’s most attended, including China, which had 815,992 visitors; Manus x Machina, with 752,995 visitors; and Alexander McQueen with 661,509  visitors.

Bolton has authored and co-authored more than 17 books. He lectures and contributes scholarly articles to various publications.

Prior to joining the Metropolitan, Mr. Bolton worked at the Victoria &  Albert Museum in London for nine years, as Senior Research Fellow in  Contemporary Fashion, and prior to that as Curatorial Assistant in the  Far Eastern Department. During this period, he also curated exhibitions at the London College of Fashion.

Born in Great Britain, Mr. Bolton earned a B.A. in social anthropology and an M.A. in Non-Western Art from the University of East Anglia. He became a Visiting Professor at the University of the Arts in London in 2007 and received an Honorary Fellowship in 2016. In 2017, he received an Honorary  Fellowship from the Royal College of Art.

Mr. Bolton has received several awards, including the Fashion Group International Oracle  Award in 2016, the Vilcek Prize in Fashion in 2015, the Best Monographic Exhibition from the Association of Art Museum Curators for Alexander McQueen in 2011, and the Richard  Martin Award for Excellence from The Costume Society of America for American Woman in 2010 and also for Poiret (with Harold Koda) in 2007.

Brought to you by the British Consulate General, New York. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Sharon Carpenter is an award-winning broadcast journalist, TV presenter and producer. She was recently announced as the new co-host of the top-rated entertainment podcast, Loose Lips, alongside Hollyoaks actress Jorgie Porter.

Hailing from Watford, England, Sharon moved to New York City to attend Pace University, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a BBA degree in business management. From hard news to pop culture, she has worked on-air for some of the best-known networks in the U.S. including BBC America, CBS, BET, VH1 and Sean “Diddy” Combs’ REVOLT TV.

Sharon was also a presenter on HQ Trivia, the viral quiz-show app, where she hosted games for as many as 2 million concurrent live players. She quickly became a fan favourite when she joined HQ U.S. in 2017 and later went on to launch the U.K. version as the ‘face’ of the show.

Affectionately dubbed ‘Shazza’ by audience members, she has been lauded by the British press as an ‘icon’ and ‘cult figure.’ Recently, Sharon was named one of the ‘most influential’ people in London by the Evening Standard on its ‘Progress 1000’ list.

In addition to hosting Loose Lips, she can currently be seen sharing her strong opinions on hot topics as a frequent contributor on The Wendy Williams Show and, pre-Covid, covering star-studded red carpets for BBC America.

Sharon has interviewed some of the biggest celebrities in the world including Beyonce, Jay Z, Ryan Gosling, Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Pattinson, Emma Stone, Will Smith, Madonna, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Meryl Streep.

In 2016, Sharon made her acting debut, appearing as herself on the FOX prime-time smash Empire and quickly became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter. She has also worked as a guest correspondent for America’s highest-rated pop culture news show, Entertainment Tonight and, more recently, as the anchor of People Magazine’s weekly series The Royal Report -- covering the latest scoop on the British royal family.

Behind-the-scenes, Sharon works as a media entrepreneur, creating and developing her own show concepts, including VH1’s hit docu-series, The Gossip Game. In 2018, she ventured into the business of fashion for the first time, launching her own collection with women’s contemporary-wear brand, Ego Soleil - Sharon Carpenter x Ego Soleil: Day to Play. Within the first few months of release, the line was sold out.

Sharon is a philanthropist and ambassador for two non-profit organizations - Oxfam America and St. George’s Society of New York.

Brought to you by the British Consulate General, New York. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Conor Jordan is Deputy Chairman of the Impressionist and Modern Department. Conor joined Christie's in London in 1996 in the Modern British and Heritage & Taxation departments, where he was instrumental in the sale to the Tate gallery of a major Mondrian. This led to a specialist role in the Impressionist & Modern art department in 1998. Appointed a Director of Christie's London in 2002, Conor was responsible for twice-yearly major sales of paintings and sculpture ranging from Corot to Picasso. In May 2006, he joined the New York team as a Senior Specialist supporting all areas of the team's business getting activities and in 2009 was appointed Head of the department, a role he fulfilled through 2011. Conor graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Medieval and Modern History.

Andrew Whalley, has been an instrumental part of Grimshaw since the earliest days of the practice and has been Partner in Charge of projects in diverse sectors including education, performing arts, transportation and workplace. His award-winning projects include the International Terminal at Waterloo, the Eden Project in Cornwall, the redevelopment of the historic Paddington Station in London and the Experimental and Performing Arts Building in Troy, New York. In 2001 Andrew established the Grimshaw New York studio. He was Partner in Charge of Grimshaw’s New York office during its first ten years. During this time Grimshaw in New York was one of eight architectural practices selected for major public projects under Mayor Bloomberg’s design excellence program.

In the education and cultural arts sector, Andrew has been involved in a range of projects including - state of the art science facilities for the Danforth Science Center; the strategic plan for the Royal College of Art in London. He is currently overseeing The Sustainability Pavilion for the Dubai World Expo 2020. An ambitious project to create a totally net zero building as a centre piece for the Expo.

Andrew has been involved with academia for many years. In the UK this has included several years teaching at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College’s Industrial Design Department. In addition, Andrew ran a unit at the Architectural Association for three years and lectured at University College London for over five years. In the US, he has been a visiting Professor at Washington University and regularly lectures at UPenn. Andrew recently completed his appointment as Adjunct Professor at the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Politecnico Milano.

Andrew was appointed as Deputy Chairman in 2011 and succeeded Sir Nicholas Grimshaw as Chairman in June 2019; the Chairman’s Office is responsible for managing the practices core design ethos, brand identity and working to build relationships and to strengthen the profile of around the world.

Andrew is a registered member of the AIA and RIBA and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2006. In April 2019 he was elected to the board of the British Architectural Library Trust.

He was elected to the AIA College of Fellows for Design in 2019 and awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from his alma mater, The Glasgow School of Art. The Consortium for Sustainable Urbanizatiion honored Andrew with their 2021 Champion Award He is qualified as an architect in the UK and USA and has been with Grimshaw since 1986.

Brought to you by the British Consulate General, New York. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Lola Adesioye is a social and political writer, commentator and broadcaster, having spent her career at the intersection of culture, society and politics, with the aim of advancing newer, broader, diverse perspectives and using the media, culture and creativity as tools for social good and social change.

Born and raised in London, England, the daughter of parents from Nigeria, Lola has lived in New York City since 2007. She is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, holding undergraduate (Bachelor of Arts) and postgraduate (Masters) degrees in Social and Political Science (with Italian and Spanish). She has travelled extensively, and has lived in post-apartheid South Africa.

For the past 14 years, she has been a vocal and active participant-observer of American society and politics. Lola's opinion, commentary and analysis of American race relations, current affairs, society, politics and culture have been published in a number of international publications including The Guardian, the Economist, CNN.com, The New Statesman, the Huffington Post, the Sunday Times, Forbes Africa, The Independent, The Atlantic and many others.

She provides opinion and commentary for American and international TV and Radio networks such as the BBC, Sky News, Al Jazeera, Huffington Post Live, CNN, BET and MSNBC. Lola is also a regular participant on the weekly Sunday Open Line current affairs, news and politics show on WBLS1075 Radio in New York.

In addition to the importance of activism and advocacy for legislative and policy changes, Lola strongly believes in the power of education, the arts and entrepreneurship as vehicles for social, political and cultural change.

Brought to you by the British Consulate General, New York. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.