Our Story
and More
The Story behind the Idea
There's a fantastic dynamic that happens when you fill a room with fascinating and engaged people from different worlds.
Like the best party ever, you get great conversation and amazing ideas. Each person has something interesting to offer. Whether she's a lawyer with a passion for poetry or he's a chef playing with particle physics, or even a painter into plumbing, each sees the world in a unique way, and has even more unique ways of managing their place in it.
Unfortunately, once the party's over, those unique connections get left behind; those great ideas are often forgotten.
But right now, the world can use just as many great ideas as it can get its hands on. So we thought what we needed to do was figure out a way to capture that magic - a way to connect these independent and creative people with each other as well as with the people who need them most.
That's how the idea for TICKBIRD&RHINO was born.
The Folk behind the Story
We're just a bunch of people who think there needs to be some changes made in the way the working world works. We've had years of experience in different disciplines around the world. Along the way we've discovered there's a huge resource of skills, talent and creativity that could be better connected to the people and organisations who need it most.
Mat Clum FRSA
(founder & creative director)
Mat has done all sorts of things over the years. Born in the US, he studied philosophy, fine art and architecture, before having a professional life in New York City. There he worked primarily in the fashion and branding biz. He's designed fabric & clothes, run more than one life-style business, owned a shop, worked as a director of communications and designed retail furniture. Probably some other stuff, too.
At the turn of the Century, Mat moved to London to paint while laterally exploring language at the intersection of art and science. Along the way he's worked with private clients designing residences here and abroad, consulted in image & branding and also does a bit of data management design. He recently became a fellow at the Royal Society of Arts.
Most importantly, though, Mat co-curated Ideas-Matter-Sphere, an organisation that presented salon-style talks between artists and others. That experience (and a couple of traumatic elections along the way) provided the inspiration for TICKBIRD&RHINO.
Sujata Majumdar
Born and raised in London and living in Amsterdam since 2001, Sujata studied photography, physics and the natural sciences. She's worked in the technology sectors of telecoms, banking and healthcare and now makes art crossing back and forth between these areas.
Woven into her artwork are a number of projects ranging from recycling education and practice in Lesbos, Greece; creative re-use of water purification by-products in the Netherlands; and inspiring FabLab use in younger generations of textile artisans in Gujarat, India.
Initially interested in presenting a talk on her 'desirable dossiers' project (dreaming the electronic health record) she's found herself drawn deeper into TICKBIRD&RHINO and is now integrally involved in the daily running of the organisation as well as being our European representative.
Sean Oldham
Sean Oldham has spent enough time in London for it to become a working part of his mind. Having had an international education there, and having subsequently hung out with exiles in his home town, another, welcome dimension has been added to it.
In a fairly long career as a painter and decorator he has become most interested in the effects of colour and light upon the interior, and is interested in the psychodynamic aspects of decoration, often unlocking a narrative for unwitting clients within an architectural project.
Sean's the guy who gets things done for TICKBIRD&RHINO.
Gail McAnena
Gail is a political activist, doer and firm believer in the power of collaboration and creativity. Gail handles our PR and merchandising, amongst many other things.
Since she's got that 'youth thing' going on she juggles us not-having a social media presence (which, believe it or not, takes almost as much time as having a social media presence).
Paul Taylor
Paul is the TICKBIRD&RHINO chronicler and bard. He writes and performs as a solo artist in a project known as Trombone Poetry. You'll find his work on our "Stories We Tell" page under Events.
Paul is also a freelance musician (yes, he's for hire!) and leads two trios: Click Beetle, which plays his many compositions, and The Blowpipes Trombrone Trio, which plays classical, folk, jazz and whatnot.
News of all these musical and literary activities is chronicled in the Trombonicle mailing list. He also writes and edits science and philosophy book reviews for The Skeptic, and is planning to publish a book of poetry and a study of Buckminster Fuller, amongst other works.
Omid Miri
Omid is in charge of strategy and other commercial stuff for TICKBIRD&RHINO.
With a background in politics and policy, he is particularly interested in how networks of creative people can innovate and effect change independently of government.
He also runs the 2050 Project, a think tank bridging the gap between the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution and politics, and has a professional background in commercial events organising.
Omid is currently on an open sabbatical as he works in Westminster. He'd spend more time with us if he could, but we all know that the moment UK politics needs him more than we do so we're happy to give him the room he needs.
YOU?
If you like what we do here at TICKBIRD&RHINO and would like to get involved by sharing your expertise, let us know. We're always on the lookout for good people who want to make a difference and can provide the help we need.
Of course, if you think what we're doing is so great you want to give us lots and lots of money so we can make a difference even faster, get in touch, we'd LOVE to talk to you (no, seriously, we really would).
Mailing Address: 69 Gordon Rd, London SE15 2AF, United Kingdom
Registered Address: Trojan House, 34 Arcadia Avenue, London N3 2JU, United Kingdom