Gary Means
cultural tour Guide
Deborah Doane
social change agent
Overwhelmed by worldwide chaos? US TOO! Tickbird&Rhino made some light in the dark with the street-art expert Gary Means and social change agent Deborah Doane. They told us all about the work they do and explored the different ways we all engage with the world outside our front door.
Gary talked about London street art and the vital role it, and its artists, play in our environment. He showed us why it happens, why it's important and how it impacts on our urban experience. From council-approved murals to political graffiti andindividual tagging, Gary showed how these images give shape to our places.
Deborah, on the other hand, talked about a lifetime spent organising for a fairer world - something we could certainly use more of right now! She looked at how we cope when things go wrong and how we can come together to bridge the differences that divide us; from craftivism to activism she showed us really hopeful ways we each can, and have, made genuine, long term, positive change.
Together Deborah and Gary got the conversation rolling and since Tickbird&Rhino evenings are all about the magic that happens when interesting people meet, there was a lot of room for questions and comments. We didn't know where the night was going to take us but in the end we had a lively, rollicking discussion that brought showed where these two worlds meet and generated inspiring ideas along the way.
25Mar25
The Wheatsheaf / London
Gary Means is the founder of Alternative London, the U.K’s first street art tour and workshop provider, and is considered one of the country’s foremost experts on Urban Art. Alternative London has won over 20 travel awards and has been included in Guardian Travel’s Top Ten Guided Tours in the World.
Gary also founded Unit 5 Gallery which exhibited and represented some of the world’s top street artists and produced a series of large-scale murals and installations. His Apple Top Ten Podcast has featured well-known names from the street art world alongside leaders of cultural institutions in East London. In 2016 he was voted one of the Evening Standard’s Inspirational Londoners.
For more information: alternativeldn.co.uk
Deborah Doane is a partner at Rights CoLab and the author of ‘The INGO Problem: Power Privilege & Renewal’ an exploration into international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and the disprorportionate amount of power they wield in the civil society sector.Deborah writes and speaks regularly on social change. She has worked for over twenty-five years as a leader and activist across human rights, international development, environmental change and economic justice. She has led campaigns that successfully changed the law and continues to support the ‘change’ space, at both the local and international levels.
Previous roles have included: Director of the Funders’ Initiative for Civil Society, a philanthropic collaborative; Director of the World Development Movement (now Global Justice Now); Head of Sustainable Consumption for WWF; founder/Director of CORE (the Corporate Responsibility Coalition) and Director of Corporate Accountability at the New Economics Foundation. She has sat on numerous not-for-profit Boards including the Fairtrade Foundation, the Sheila McKechnie Foundation and is currently the Chair of Finance Uncovered.
Deborah also hosted the 'Anti-Apathy Aunt' podcast - an agony aunt for people who want to change the world, but don't know where to start.
For more information: linkedin.com/in/deborah-doane/