This autumn we welcomed three new directors to the Create Gloucestershire board. Faatimah Bham, Karl Gluck, and Harriet Hughes come from community rail, adult social care, and the visual arts, and all three have strong ties to Gloucestershire and the people who live here. We asked them to tell us a bit about themselves and what they wanted to bring to the board.
Faatimah Bham
Faatimah was born and bred in Gloucester, and she cares about the communities and places that shaped her. She is Development Manager at Gloucestershire Community Rail Partnership, where she works across partnerships, strategy and community-led projects. She studied building services engineering at university and has a long-held interest in sustainability and climate resilience. She is also a photographer, a calligraphy artist and a workshop facilitator.
“While these interests span different disciplines, they share a common thread: my belief in the importance of people, place and creating opportunities for communities to thrive,” she says. Her Muslim faith is central to her values and to how she approaches her work.
“I’m excited to join Create Gloucestershire because I want to contribute to the place I call home and the communities that make it what it is,” Faatimah explains. “I’m curious about the role creativity and culture can play in bringing people together, strengthening our sense of belonging and shaping a more inclusive and sustainable future. I hope to bring my experience in community-led development, partnership working and strategic thinking, while learning from others and supporting a thriving, connected creative sector across Gloucestershire.”
Karl Gluck
Karl’s career began with a camera. Before he spent 30 years in health and social care, mostly in adult mental health, he volunteered as an amateur photographer at a mental health day service and taught photography to the adults who went there. “This showed me first-hand how creativity can empower people, build connections and support wellbeing,” he says.
Karl is now Head of Strategic Commissioning for Adult Social Care at Gloucestershire County Council. He brings strong governance and strategic expertise to the board, along with curiosity, a readiness to offer constructive challenge, and an understanding of the barriers that can shut people out of arts and culture.
Explaining why he wanted to join, Karl says: “I am particularly drawn to Create Gloucestershire’s commitment to inclusion, innovation and collaboration, and the opportunity to explore how creativity can enhance individual wellbeing, strengthen communities and improve public services.”
Harriet Hughes
Harriet is a visual artist working in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. Her creative work explores the impact digital spaces have on our realities. She has worked on projects documenting the cultural history of Gloucester and joined Culture Matson, the creative alliance for Matson, White City and Robinswood. Around then she saw that we were looking for fresh perspectives on our board.
“I hope to bring the voice of emerging creatives into the conversation and to translate Create Gloucestershire’s work to residents and creatives,” Harriet says. “I am excited to gain insight into how Create Gloucestershire tackles topics which are close to my heart, and look forward to the challenge of ensuring our actions align with our values.”
We’re delighted to welcome Karl, Harriet and Faatimah, and we look forward to the expertise and fresh perspectives they’ll bring to our board as we plan the next chapter of Create Gloucestershire’s work.
