Eastbourne woman recognised on New Year’s Honours list

Jenny Williams, 49, has received a British Empire Medal for her work through the pandemic.

Ms Williams joined the Eastbourne Towner as a trustee last March and is currently director of Revoluton – a project funded by the Arts Council England in Luton.

During the pandemic, she and her team pulled together a programme of free online events showcasing diverse talent.

She has given time and resources to local organisations to help them deliver essential services during this time, partnering with local foodbanks and pupil referral services to get musical instruments and creative packs to families in need.

Ms Williams has supported members of the local Muslim community through Covid by initiating calls to pull people together as many haven’t been able to celebrate Ramadan with family members and loved ones.

Her work has created an artistic platform for young people to find employment opportunities, ensuring that young people can receive financial support and also give them the tools to engage with communities digitally in the future.

She is also founding director of Take the Space, a creative production hub for Black and multi-ethnic talent, and a heritage fund consultant on the Register of Support Services which supports projects around the country.

Ms Williams said, “I am thrilled to have received this honour for services to culture and creativity through the pandemic.

“In fact, its been an honour to work in the arts and heritage sector for over 25 years, and so to have this recognition is truly incredible.

“I wish I could say that it was all my work, but of course it wasn’t – I work with an incredible team at Revoluton and we were determined to be present with communities – to say that we cared and play a part in whatever way we could, be that providing moments of solace and comfort through music and poetry or live music on a Friday night.

“As trustee of Towner Eastbourne, I’ve seen first hand the amazing work that the team delivered locally in our town, from doing everything they could to keep the doors open in such testing times, through to delivering 1,500 creativity packs to children and families across the town through to online creative workshops with fantastic visual artists.”

Director of Towner Eastbourne Joe Hill, said, “Huge congratulations to Jenny on this important and well-deserved accolade from everyone at Towner Eastbourne.

“We are very lucky to have Jenny on our board of trustees and it’s a wonderful start to the year to see her work recognised in this way.”

Ms Williams added, “For me, this is an incredible recognition of the creative sector and how arts, culture and creativity played their part in this time of national crisis, and I am so proud to work in this field.

“We can only go forward with hopefulness, and when we come out of this the creative sector will be there for opportunities to come together, to heal and reflect, for all ages and for everyone.

“And I’m so looking forward to that day.”