Our Team

Sue Gainsborough - Director

Sue has worked in the cultural sector for over 25 years, in senior development roles as Artistic Director, Business Manager and Arts Development Consultant. She has led on a number of major, and award-wining, strategic arts, heritage, community and cultural partnership initiatives, working across public, third and private sectors and with Higher Education.

Sue has particular interests in social enterprise, artist led developments, community centred co-production, delivery in rural contexts, and skills and talent progression routes for creatives of all ages. A visual art graduate, her creative interests are mostly focused on artists and experimental moving image, animation, sound, cinema and performing arts. 

Sue is Chair of NPO Animate Projects, and previously sat on the Business Advisory Board for the School of Art, University of Wolverhampton, steering groups for BFI FAN, and was a founding and management board member of CCS, the Local Cultural Education Partnership.

Sue is also Company Director for MediaActive.

Richard Hepenstal - Company Manager

Richard has worked for over 20 years within the arts sector in national, regional, local and rural contexts, managing, delivering and administering exhibitions, art projects and events with key strategic arts organisations such as Arts Council England, UK Film Council / BFI, LOCOG, British Council and MOSTYN.

He also has an excellent knowledge of both art history and contemporary art practice - formalised by way of Postgraduate Certificates in Social and Cultural Theory and the History of Art, as well as a Masters Degree in Fine Art. He has particular expertise - across both theory and practice - in experimental film and artist moving image.

Richard is also a Company Director for MediaActive.

Samantha Moore - MediaActive Associate


Samantha is an award-winning animated documentary maker and researcher, and Head of Animation at Royal College of Art, London​. Her teaching is in the areas of ideas development, experimental and innovative animation, and combining research and practice. She is passionate about using animation to convey information in new and interesting ways!

Samantha is a also Company Director for MediaActive.



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Mary White - MediaActive Associate

Mary is a painter by training and pursues her own artistic practice. She has knowledge and experience of professional museum and gallery management, contemporary arts practice, and organisational development, gained as Shrewsbury Museums Manager, and as Trustee, and former Chair, of the Board at Oriel Davies - one of Wales' key public art galleries, located in Newtown, Powys, that presents 'world-class, thought-provoking and challenging art by national and international artists'.

Mary is also a Company Director for MediaActive.

Sarah Zacharek - MediaActive Associate

​​Sarah has worked for over 20 years in the Arts, starting as a General Business Operations Manager for a national grassroots live music venue organisation. Progressing into the Charity Sector 13 years ago she has project managed successful local community projects, as well as overhauling and creating finance systems and processes for the complex needs of charities. 

Her passions are arts, wellbeing, mental health and local rural communities.  Specialising in Finance and Governance, Sarah is now employed as Head of Finance & Operations for a local wildlife charity. She sits on the Trust of Greenpoint, a wellbeing with nature CIC, and is Chair of Connexus Community Fund Panel. Alongside these roles, she provides financial support and guidance for a local community arts charity.
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Donna Cliftlands - MediaActive Associate

Donna has had a very varied career. Originally an historian, she has written an award-winning textbook on the Tudors and Stuarts; been a BBC radio producer and is a qualified broadcast journalist. She taught Film and Media in schools and the FE sector for over 25 years, has taught animation in primary schools, is a senior examiner for a major exam board, and an Arts Award Advisor. 

​A passionate musician, for the last 20 years Donna has run children’s workshops at two of the country’s biggest folk festivals - her busman’s holiday! Her close association with MediaActive began in 2014, covering a large range of media arts projects, whilst also leading their youth focussed accreditation programme.


Adrian Plant - MediaActive Associate

Adrian has worked for numerous museums and galleries across the UK, including the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; Cambridge Darkroom; the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich and, for ten years as Curator of Exhibitions, Education and Outreach Programmes, Tate Liverpool. Between 2001-2014 Adrian was the Exhibitions Officer for Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery.  

In his time as Curator Adrian has curated exhibitions and commissions with a wide range of international artists including Antony Gormley, Louise Short, Vladimir Arkhipov, Ivan and Heather Morison, Dorothy Cross, Marcus Coates, Shirley Chubb, Thomson and Craighead. 

An experienced musician and performer, since 2014, Adrian now leads professional music workshops in a variety of community settings.
MediaActive Projects C.I.C.
Wem Town Hall
High Street, Wem
Shropshire, SY4 5DG
email: [email protected]