GASP! co-curates contemporary art exhibitions and events with the people of Gloucester

Our Story

When we founded Gloucestershire Arts and Social Projects (GASP!) in 2022, we had no idea where the journey would take us. We only knew that existing organisations in Gloucester, an Arts Council England (ACE) Priority Place, lacked the capacity to deliver visual arts projects for residents of the city, and that we, as artists, wanted to help. Over 3.5 years later, we are dedicated to working in partnership with the people of Gloucester to create a programme around those in our community who may lack opportunities to access the life changing power of the arts.

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Our Mission

GLOUCESTERSHIRE

To create paid opportunities for Gloucester-based artists to make and exhibit work locally.
To provide mentoring, development programmes and paid opportunities for young creatives in the city.
To support and develop Gloucester’s visual arts scene.

ARTS – To raise the profile of Gloucester as a thriving city for the contemporary visual arts

To put Gloucester on the map as a centre for contemporary visual arts, increasing opportunities for local and National artists to develop and show their work in the city.
Working towards a collective vision and manifestation of a Nationally significant, contemporary arts “gallery” for Gloucester, with a strong focus on socially-engaged, co-created projects.

SOCIAL - To use contemporary visual art and artists to address issues of social need and inequality

To provide arts events and opportunities to communities and individuals who face barriers to participation, or who would not normally access such opportunities.
To give local people agency in their communities to direct and co-create cultural provision that meets their needs and want

The GASP Team

Soozy Roberts

Artistic Director

Soozy Roberts is a socially-engaged artist and curator who collaborates with communities, objects and environments in an interactive, playful and progressive manner.

Soozy has been working in Matson since 2018 as a creative catalyst with Create Gloucestershire and as a freelance artist/producer.

She is passionate about working with communities and developing arts opportunities in areas where these aren’t so readily available.

Soozy also lectures in Live Art & Participatory Practices at Bath Spa University.

Sam O'Brien

Communications and Campaign Manager

Sam is a communications specialist with a passion for community and the power of the arts. With a strong track record of leading strategy and teams across public relations and marketing in the Film, TV, visual effects and animation industry, Sam now works across various creative and socially engaged organisations on a project basis.

Sam helps to shape and grow organisations towards their mission through messaging work, campaign management, media relations, stakeholder engagement and fundraising. She joined GAS projects in 2025 to help reach more audiences and lead Big Give 2025.

Hannah Thomson

Lead Creative Producer

I am an artist facilitator and creative producer with a passion for giving a voice to the overlooked or unheard. I began working in Gloucester in 2020 when I started conceiving heritage-focussed projects that told the stories of people from the city past and present.

I have a background in art history and museum and gallery education and my work explores how art and artists can create meaningful change through engagement with communities.

GASP! Young Creatives

Young Creatives is a development scheme for 18-30 year olds who live in Gloucester and are starting out or wanting to take steps into creative careers. As our primary focus is on the contemporary visual arts, we welcome visual artists into this group. Our work also includes multidisciplinary arts forms, performance, community engagement, event production, content creation, media and marketing. So we welcome young creatives who want to work in these areas too.

The group meets monthly to discuss their own practice, receive advice and support from us, while connecting with each other. They also have the opportunity to guide our programming to ensure it meets the needs of young people in the city. We offer regular paid opportunities to work alongside us on our projects.

Young Creatives who take part in paid opportunities are given the chance to work with national and local artists to gain experience in event planning, curating, workshop facilitation, community engagement and more!

So far, we've collaborated with the Young Creatives on: