Mary McCarthy | Project Director

Mary is a leading urban contemporary art specialist, who has spent the last 20 years following street art, forging contacts with artists, buyers, writers and followers within this counter culture movement. Prior to setting up her own consultancy, Mary worked with Getty, Christies, Bloomsbury and Dreweatts. Mary founded MM Contemporary Arts Ltd in 2012 and has brokered some of the highest profile (and most discreet) urban contemporary art sales. In 2013, she partnered with Paris based auction house Digard to develop their biannual global sale of urban contemporary art, achieving record sales in this sector. In 2018, Mary stepped away from the auction world to work on various art related projects including a TED talk in Switzerland and consulting on various exhibitions throughout the world.

Justin MacCarthy | Artistic Director

Artistic Director and co-curator of Vanguard, aka Dicy, creator, inventor and designer, Justin has lived in Bristol for over 20 years and has been an integral part of the second generation of street artists to emerge from the city.

Graham Dews | Co-curator and Design Director

Also known as artist Paris, Graham was a highly influential player in the renaissance of the Bristol street art scene during the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. He has become a major exponent of the artform internationally. In recent years his collaboration with Coldplay led to global recognition including designing their Album cover Mylo Xyloto and visually contributing to award winning videos and concerts.

Charlotte Pyatt | Creative Director

Charlotte is a writer, creative consultant, director and producer with a passion for projects activating positive change and discussion through art. Over the past ten years Charlotte has managed artist profiles, independent projects and cultural initiatives, projects and campaigns include Splash and Burn, Towards 2030 and #bushfirebrandalism. Recent lectures include Sotheby’s Institute NY, Goldsmiths University London and the Lush Climate Summit.

Doug Gillen | Fifth Wall TV

Doug is a film maker heading production agency Fifth Wall TV. Through the construction of bespoke narrative across visual and audio content, FWTV strive to bridge the gap between concepts and audiences for authentic engagement of the issues.
With a passion for projects connected to the street and Urban world, FWTV has since their inception in 2014 partnered with brands, charities and artists from around the world. Doug is also the co-producer and host of the Radio Juxtapoz Podcast, part of Juxtapoz Magazine hosted on Spotify.

Felix (FLX) Braun | Artist and Author

Felix ‘FLX’ Braun is a veteran of the first wave of UK graffiti, whose work has taken him across Europe, South Asia and East Africa. He is the author of two books on street art and graffiti, is a fine artist, freelance curator, educator and commentator, currently living and working in Bristol, UK.

His TV work includes the BBC’s Vandals and Visionaries (2017); BAFTA-winning Drummer TV’s New Boys in Town (2017); and Spirit Level Cinema’s Banksy and the Rise of Outlaw Art (2020).

John Nation | Tour Guide

Born and bred in Bristol, John was a key figure during the development of Bristol’s world-famous graffiti scene. In the mid ‘80s whilst working as a youth worker at Barton Hill Youth Centre, John encouraged young artists to paint on the walls transforming it into a notorious technicolour beacon of creative expression.
For the last 8 years, John has been the tour guide for Where the Wall, Bristol’s hugely popular street art walking tours, talking with visitors to the city about the past 35+ years and today’s scene that the city is globally known for.

Inkie | Artist

Tom Bingle aka Inkie, has emerged as one of the most prolific graffiti writers in UK history working across fashion, jewellery, design and the visual arts. He received International recognition following his infamous role in the 1989 UK police raid ‘Operation Anderson’. Noted as the largest UK graffiti bust, Inkie was identified as the ‘Kingpin’, and was arrested along with 72 other graffiti writers.

Inkie’s work is characterised by a unique collaboration of graffiti and figurative imagery. His widely recognised style draws on Art Nouveau influences with an unmistakeable urban twist; portraits of beautiful women are usually accompanied by poignant words or phrases; faces are understated, almost anime and are framed with his iconic stylised flowing hair.
He has worked as head of design for SEGA Europe, Xbox and until recently, worked as Jade Jagger’s in-house designer. He also runs a design studio. His work is coveted by celebrity followers including Cara Delevigne, Robbie Williams, Jade Jagger, Fatboy Slim and Sean Pertwee and he has exhibited worldwide both on the streets and in galleries.

Scott Hendy aka Boca 45 | Music Producer & DJ

Boca 45 known as somewhat of a Bristol (UK) institution from his early days in the mid 90s selling Golden Era Hip Hop from behind the counter of the seminal Purple Penguin record shop rapidly becoming one of Bristol’s most in demand DJs. He’s had continuous releases, remixes, DJ mixes on labels such as Island/Universal, Domino Recordings, Ninja Tunes, Grand Central, Illicit, Jalapeno, Unique Mass Appeal & more under a slew of aliases. Scott Boca provided a track for the Banksy Movie “Exit Through The Gift Shop” & in 2015 the elusive artist personally requested Boca to DJ with his 45s at the opening night at his Dismal Land Show. For Vanguard, Boca 45 has been on hand to advise on all sound and music production for the exhibition, creating soundscapes for 3 areas and has provided music to accompany our social media assets. In addition to the exhibition Boca 45 was responsible for the compiling and mix of the Vanguard record album.