Who we are
Protest is not just about standing at the picket line. For us at AOP Projects, protest is about provoking, agitating, not sitting silent, but ultimately - engaging with one another. We help elevate voices that have important messages to share. This world is far from perfect, but we are trying to improve it - one brush stroke at a time.
Art of Protest Projects is a team of creatives who focus on transforming spaces. With decades of experience in the urban art sector, we deliver a variety of experiences and services from carefully curated intimate pop-up events and festivals to large-scale exterior murals and park redesigns. We offer artistic consultancy services on all fronts from urban city planning to small business design. We work with world-renowned artists and our in-house team, as well as fledgling artists, to help support local talent and ensure every project is delivered by the right team.
We take pride in the management and delivery of small and large-scale projects and cover all areas of project management including projection conception, production, and delivery, public relations, marketing and communications, project planning, press and social media services, partnership development and stakeholder management. Our productions and services range from large-scale exterior murals, specialist videography capture, deep-level community engagement, augmented reality paste-up trails, and everything in between…the sky is the limit.
At the heart of our business is a thirst for sustainability and a focus on carbon neutrality. We are a Carbon Literate company, backed by Speak Carbon and The Carbon Literacy Project.
We are expert visionaries that seek to change environments and mindsets. We focus on envisaging spaces through the eyes of our clients and their community - by uniquely bringing creativity to the forefront, allowing concepts and ideas to come to life through art, colour, imagery, and storytelling. With an unstoppable imagination, nothing is out of the realm of possibility for the team at Art of Protest Projects.
Core Team
Jeff Clark
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Jeff Clark is an urban art curator and the founder of the Art of Protest brand and has been creating fresh and exciting exhibitions and artistic displays in open-air style galleries, as well as working with some of the world’s leading fine art galleries, for over 20 years. hrough his curational and imaginative style detail, he focuses on raising awareness of important real-world issues and provides a microphone to the unheard voices of the world through the vehicle of urban art. Jeff has a celebrated commercial CV, having worked with Halcyon, Washington Green, and Moniker Art Fair, as well as consulting within the public sector art world in the UK and overseas with the Hoerl-Guggenheim group in New York.
Six years ago, Jeff embarked on establishing a new breed of art in the form of protest, founding the Art of Protest gallery in York. He then expanded his vision to a broader audience by literally and figuratively stepping outside of the box. Recognizing the urgent need for rapid change in global issues and politics, he launched the urban art and engagement company, Art of Protest Projects, building a strong core group of creatives and utilizing AOP satellite teams across the country. Jeff has been working with experimental mediums from around the world for his entire life, and through AOP Projects, he has set his mission to create a positive impact by changing places through transforming spaces through the utilisation and circulation of powerful and impactful messaging. With a strong grassroots element, his team collaborates with world-leading artists from diverse backgrounds and demographics to successfully deliver a range of projects and events, from street murals and festivals to artistic park rewilding and community-led workshops. Jeff has also helped to foster and cultivate the creative careers of the many talents he has mentored, and continues to inspire through his lectures and community discussions around urban art and placemaking.
Jeff's ambitious and sociable nature ensures that he never takes a day off from his relentless pursuit of making art accessible to all through careful curation and execution. He is a trusted set of hands with councils and BIDs across the country. His unique mixture of core experience, incredible communication skills and joyful charisma never fail to excite and engage people through every walk of life.
John Slemensek
PHOTOGRAPHER & VIDEOGRAPHER
Studio Bokehgo is an independent artisan film, photography and publicity studio with a remit of empowering ethical, creative and inspiring organisations, individuals, and initiatives, by shining a spotlight on them and bringing to surface the voice that makes them unique. Studio Bokehgo looks beyond the camera, to the social engagement and interactivity that exists beyond the silver screen and works to establish platforms that can see ongoing community development and growth.
Tim Bleszynski
STRATEGIC BUSINESS DEVELOPER
A seasoned expert with twenty-five years of sharp-end business development experience within B2C, B2B, B2B2C and B2E, Tim is entrepreneurial and strategically inclined by nature. He has started up, ran, sold, bought, sustained and folded businesses providing brand, marketing, proposition and product development insight. During this time, Tim has had the pleasure of working with some of the biggest brands on the planet (and some of the smallest too). By helping my clients to simply focus on 'what matters' and 'how to get it', Tim has contributed at a business development and strategic level to foster growth as well as providing practical implementation support for product and market roll-out.
Brenna Allsuch
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Brenna joined the Art of Protest Projects team four years ago as a freelance project manager working on the acclaimed Guardian’s of York delivery, and quickly found her skills were well suited for the art delivery sector. Her critical eye and meticulous approach to the project’s delivery ensured the necessary level of detail which allowed her to progress into the role of Communications Director and Senior Project Manager at AOP Projects.
Brenna's transcontinental upbringing, spanning six countries across three continents, equipped her with multilingual skills and the ability to effectively communicate with individuals from diverse global backgrounds. With her previous work as an intensive care unit nurse and creative skills as an embroidery artist, Brenna possesses an impressive academic CV that she now leverages in the project world. Although her journey led her into the medical profession, having studied and practiced in the USA before moving to the UK six years ago, Brenna's early days began in graphic design school in Austin, Texas. Brenna was also an early adopter of cultivating her creative niche art form on social media and, through her experimental engagement practice, grew her embroidery platform Thready Pulse to an audience of nearly 150k followers. She now applies that same philosophy to the growth of the various projects for which she contributes at AOP Projects.
Brenna has played a pivotal role in growing AOP Projects into an international status, leveraging her diverse communication capabilities and copywriting skills. She has successfully overseen the delivery of numerous projects, including a 60-metre land art installation and one of the UK's longest murals. Brenna also project-managed and launched the inaugural festival for the Children's Capital of Culture 2022 and has run multiple large scale engagement programmes.
Ash
SCAFFOLDER AND DJ
Ash joins the team with his expert knowledge in scaffolding and building, allowing large build concepts to come to life in a safe and sustainable way. Ash is an Advanced CISRS card holder with 35 years experience (20 at Advanced level) in all aspects of the scaffolding trade, as well as being certified as Advanced Scaffolding Inspection. He has spent five years as a resident Scaffolder for Greenpeace at Glastonbury. Spanners with manners, the Gentleman Scaffolder at your service.
Roham Bayat
LEAD DESIGNER
Roham has spent over a decade working for leading advertising & design agencies with clients in fashion, finance, governance and technology, for clients including Aviva, Adidas, CNN, Puma and Jaguar Land Rover. He is renowned for creating brand identity systems that resonate with their audiences, and crafting designs that yield results – and most importantly, help elevate brands above their competitors.
He creates work for a variety of environments: the physical; the digital; the spacial – with a belief that design as a function should help and delight in equal measure. High quality production and flawless execution are hallmarks of his craft.`
Tom Jackson
ART PRODUCTION MANAGER
Tom leads the production role for the AOP Projects team, managing all of the details involved in the delivery of large scale productions. With decades of experience working on projects big and small, all around the globe, Tom is exceptionally talented at navigating the often difficult road to success when it comes to delivering a project. Tom is part of STATIC, an artist duo with murals that span as far as Japan and can be found adorning the streets all over the UK. STATIC have built a reputation based on high production quality and a keen eye for detail, not only for the artworks they have made for galleries and private collections, but also for the murals and public art projects they have completed over the years. Tom brings this valuable experience to the AOP Projects team as he oversees, coordinates and directs the various components and details involved in street art and festival productions. His family are lucky to have him as well, as he renovates and rebuilds their beautiful home in York. Ever the mathematician, Tom knows how to ensure all the numbers align to create a successful delivery, brick by brick, brush stroke by brush stroke.
Anthony Taylor-Royston
SIGN AND DIGITAL LEAD
Anthony studied Product Design at Bangor University. and has a passion for hands on projects. He loves networking and meeting new people and helping bring their ideas to life with the creative skills that he’s learned throughout his training and career. No job is too ambitious for Anthony, as he brings to life the sketches and imaginations of his colleagues, making almost anything possible with determination, patience and a clear vision. Anthony runs his own business, Astros Signs, but spends much of his time working with the AOP Projects team to find solutions to covering spaces, in even some of the most challenging of areas!
Gemma Waygood
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LEAD AND PROJECT SUPPORT MANAGER
Gemma is PRINCE2 trained Project Manager (hint - you need a degree to have this title!) passionate about change and collaboration. She is a qualified Social Worker, having worked internationally to achieve social justice and celebrate community culture. Gemma has extensive experience in consultation, delivering innovation and expertise to her role in community engagement. She excels in data collection, evaluation, and management tactics for projects within the public sector, making her the perfect asset as she joins the team as community engagement lead and project support manager.
Gemma is a tour de force with her miraculous festival and event project management skills. She is an avid traveller and can often be found soaking up local art and culture scenes. She adores moshing out at psyche gigs almost as much as she loves integrating her passion of art with the urban backdrop.
Tim Mosley
EVENT SPEC LIST MANAGER
Since forever Tim has had an interest in street art, taking his passion a step further and turning it into a lifestyle and career after studying graphic design and advertising in London at University. It was only afterwards that he discovered his talent for anything and everything food and alcohol related!
He spent over a decade working with various launch teams, successfully opening numerous restaurants and bars as well as working across the globe in his art practice. Recently, Tim has spent the past few years developing tasting menus for some of the world’s leading names in the restaurant industry. He’s also ventured into the educational sector, teaching thousands of people how to make their own hand crafted Gin. Along with his love of music, art and expertise in all things hospitality, Tim brings an organisational detail to the AOP Projects team, helping coordinate and bring together some wicked fun events!
Amanda Brett
MARKETING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Aussie Amanda is a dab hand at researching and meeting the needs of any project. She’s a qualified Public Health professional who understands strategic priorities and takes an evidence based approach to project delivery and evaluation. She’s joined the AOP Projects team as an amazing marketing and business development champion who is able to translate big ideas by meticulously assessing priority needs and providing sustainable and fresh approaches and solutions. All achieved as the resident spreadsheet wizard.
Amanda has a passion for protecting and celebrating indigenous and marginalised communities. She comes with a wealth of knowledge of Melbourne coffee and the best brunch and cocktail scene on the planet.
Chloe Clark
WORKSHOP LEAD AND MEDIA MANAGER
Working her way up the ranks within AOP over the years Chloe now sits at the head of our impressive workshop delivery programme and also leads on our social media delivery.
Chloe impressed whilst on her college placement several years ago whilst assisting on the ‘We went to Sea’ mural in Doncaster working alongside the production team. Soon after college Chloe joined AOP through the talent development programme and has not looked back since. Growing in confidence and capability, she became a mainstay in the team and helped push through creative ideas whilst having a knack for communication in both the workshop setting and across the wider business. She now has several years of major production under her belt as well as the media nuance to communicate that information in real-time to a wider audience.