Trisha Knauss
Illustration Tutor
Trisha studied commercial art at Syracuse University in New York. She began her career in New York City where she collaborated with an array of companies such as Town & Country, The New Yorker, Travel and Leisure and The New York Times. Over the years, she has worked on several fashion campaigns where her illustrations have embellished the windows of retail stores such as Nordstrom, Monsoon and Anne Taylor Loft. In London, she illustrated Maude The Not So Noticeable Shrimpton, written by former Children’s Laureate, Lauren Child, published by Puffin Books. Her work stands out for its light, witty touch and has been awarded many times in American Illustration. She teaches Illustration and Textile Techniques at Macbeth Centre, Hammersmith and The Chiswick Art school.
Lee Matthews
Art Tutor
Lee Matthews is a figurative painter whose work has been exhibited and collected internationally. Lee received her MFA Painting from the Slade at UCL, London (UK), having previously studied at Cornell University, New York (US) for her BFA Painting. Originally from NY, Lee currently lives and works in London. Lee can also be found painting at The National Gallery where she was recently given copyist privileges! Lee first began working in arts education as a teenager, giving museum tours to school children and has spent the last decade teaching small classes and workshops to all ages. Lee delights in delivering art education and is dedicated to sharing its infinite benefits with her students. “I like to focus on process over product; I believe the time spent making (concentrating, relaxing, imagining) is infinitely more valuable that anything made.”
Iyla Shah
Art Tutor
Iyla is currently undergoing her master’s in fine art at Glasgow School of Art. The power of process is instrumental to her practice, with her playful approach to freely layering mediums. She has a very energetic approach to making, allowing every child to exercise their wild imaginations without fear of making a mess or being ‘wrong’. She values her role as a facilitator as highly as a maker of art. She has experience teaching art in homeless charities, forest schools and Early Years classrooms, therefore a community imperative is at the core of her intentions. She discovered HVH ARTS through word of mouth and has never looked back since joining as a volunteer in 2020. “The vigour, talent and commitment of the HVH community” has enabled her to continue doing work that aligns with her ethos that ‘art has the capacity to ignite great change and we should exploit this.
Zoe Grace
Art Tutor
Zoe Grace is a North London Artist, who specialises in Street, Word, Fashion and Neon art. She has had several Solo exhibitions with The Rhodes Contemporary Art Gallery in the West End. She has also collaborated with Apple Music at The Round House, Getty Images with The David Lynch Foundation and has been in numerous group shows including Art Basel Miami. She has been running art workshops for several years now, here at HVH Arts, CentrePoint, The Caedmon Company and Unilever. She is also an Integrative Arts Counsellor, with a diploma in The Therapeutic Arts, and in Counselling Teenagers.
Sam Sure
Graffiti Tutor
Sam Sure is a singer, songwriter, designer and graffiti artist from Penge, south London. “I found HVH Arts though Debbi. Her energy and passion for giving young people a platform for artistic expression is truly inspiring. For me it’s a rare chance to use my multidisciplinary approach and make impact in that field. The graffiti project that the charity has programmed has transformed the surrounding area into a colourful canvas of young people’s work and I’m super proud to be a part of it.”
Jamie Smith
Art Tutor
Jamie is an artist and an art psychotherapist; both these roles have a focus on working with and supporting communities in London. Jamie’s art practice is with mixed media, working with textiles in her hand tufted rugs and wall hangings, stop animation, installation and painting. Jamie currently offers stop animation and graffiti workshops with HVH arts, working with young people to encourage their ideas and empower them through the arts.
Sharon King-Chai
Art Tutor
Born in Australia to Chinese-Malaysian parents, Sharon moved to London in 2003, after studying Visual Communication at University of Technology, Sydney. She fell in love with storytelling through music and books- and found her niche working as a designer in music and publishing industries. This eventually led to her creating her own books and establishing her own card and print range. She illustrates books for the phenomenal Julia Donaldson – including Animalphabet, Counting Creatures and Colours. Sharon’s recent penned book Starbird, won the Greenaway Shadower’s Choice Award in 2021. Sharon has a great passion for experimenting and innovation, and loves exploring format, narrative and new characters. She also loves using unusual materials, and references nature a lot in her artwork. Ingredients often include potatoes, blackberries, onions, feathers and sticks.
Paul Romans
Documentary Photography Tutor
Paul is a professional photographer and videographer based in London UK. He completed a BA in Fine Art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He also has an MA (Distinction) in Documentary Photography & Photojournalism from the University of Westminster. He previously taught at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art & Design before embarking on a career in the industry.
Melanie Press
Fashion Tutor
Melanie is a leading women’s designer and owner of a multi brand independent boutique in Primrose Hill. Melanie grew up in North London and went to North London Collegiate School before studying fashion at Central St Martin’s, where she was a contemporary of Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo. She went on to work for Lynne Frank PR, before crossing the Atlantic to take up a design position at Ralph Lauren in New York. This was followed by a design role with Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton. After seven years stateside, she moved back to the UK landed a job at Cacharel in Paris. Melanie opened her Press boutique in 2004 launching her own exclusive collection, Melanie Press, in 2016.
Harley Price
Photography Tutor
Multimedia artist Harley Price has an extensive background working in the arts in a variety of artistic disciplines including photography, painting, sculpture, graphic design and fashion. He has MA in Fine Art from St Martins and has worked and exhibited internationally and has work in the Tate collection. Harley recently collaborated with Dame Vivienne Westwood on a series of sculptures as well as co-art directing her last ever London fashion show. Harley has worked in a variety of capacities with HVH Arts over a number of years.
T Damien Anyasi
Dance Tutor
T Damien Anyasi has enjoyed more than 20 years in the dance education industry and has acquired a reputation for being one of the UK’s most celebrated dance teachers. Graduating from the London Music School in 2001, Damien promotes connection to, and reflection of, sound in his classes and encourages self-expression. Performances include Brit Awards and principal dancer with London’s Big Dance Bus tour, while choreographic credits include The National Theatre and London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. Damien’s commitment to educating others earned him UK Dance Teacher of the Year (2014) as voted by Dance Today magazine. He has also headlined as a teacher for Unidance resulting in a 5-year tour of Russia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
