The Progress team is a diverse group of professional, always thinking out of the box with the community and city in mind. We are ever evolving in creativity and innovation, and aim to put London on the map with a mix of traditional and innovative practices. The mix of differing cultural and professional backgrounds complements the team as a whole, forming a meeting of great creative minds.
SIMON GHARTEY

SIMON GHARTEY

Simon Ghartey founded Progress, and began the journey of this social enterprise from Spring 2004 until present. His initial drive was that he was told that the initiative would never work, and his want to empower the harder to reach inner city, through self sustainability, and creativity.

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Positive transferable sets to enable vocation, education and social standing through innovative and practical activities, have been the key to the successes and awards, from Progresses founding to present. Simon’s Afro-Carribean upbringing in the UK has been the foundation of this project being taught Progresses base agricultural outputs before the age of five years old.

VESNA PARCHET

VESNA PARCHET

I am a London- based artist who specialises in painting, printmaking, mixed media and mural art. I have studied Fine art at Middlesex University and Printmaking at London College of Communication. In 2012 I became part of an art charity called Create Space…

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an artist-led organisation to facilitate studio and workshop spaces to artists. Since 2016 I have worked as a team member of Progress to help promote creativity to the community through public murals and creative workshops.

 

My work explores humans and their existence in urban spaces, the conflict and harmony created within nature and construction.

 

My work has been exhibited around the UK, Germany, Spain, Slovakia, China and Japan.

RUBEN PIRES

RUBEN PIRES

Ruben was introduced to Progress as a recipient of the local community projects. Like many young men in the inner city there was much to discover about his abilities, yet not much direction on where to explore. He benefited from the positive influence of the many different…

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individuals that Progress enabled him to interact with.

 

This inspired him to carry on contributing and developing his skills as a project team member. Having moved on to a IT sales position as his main commitment, to develop his executive and communication skills, he still chips in a pair of hands on the more ambitious projects.

 

His passion for art, animation and design fuels him towards plans of helping small businesses, primarily ones started by other young adults from less fortunate backgrounds, to thrive and deliver memorable experiences to their communities and customers.

PAUL DAVIES

PAUL DAVIES

Paul is a Brixton based public artist who has been working with Progress since 2013. He is a sharp visual artist whose innovative and grounded approach, has helped to deliver programmes, in this fashion. He has inspired recipients such as local young offenders, completing…

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reparation, and volunteers beautifying the inner city, especially on our larger scale, or more niche projects.

JUNIOR DJAU

JUNIOR DJAU

Junior Djau is an artist specializing in film-making practices. He has worked with Progress since early 2012 facilitating activities of various calibres to the local community, in which he applies his artistic background for the creation of installation art pieces.

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He has grown considerably since he joined Progress, indirectly through a youth offending program, after which he was given the opportunity to put his skills to practice through time bank, getting to volunteer with partners such as St Thomas’s hospital and organizations such as Arts against knives, New Era among others, in the promotion of community relations, skills trading and inner-city self-sustainability. Junior currently studies Comparative literature and Film studies at Queen Mary university, and works for Progress landscaping, and in the instruction large groups of corporate volunteers in installation art pieces and landscaping.

JOSHUA HOMOA

JOSHUA HOMOA

Joshua is a young, well experienced, trained sous chef, that started with Progress in 2015. He was a resident of our award winning gardens in Angell Town, Brixton, and was a driving force in our relationship with the RHS, and consequent opening…

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of Chelsea Flower Show 2016, with the Queen. He now works with us all over London in a facilitation role, be it in, healthy cookery sessional events, or community garden builds. His passion for food inspires as well as his journey to where he is now.

JOE FURLONG

JOE FURLONG

Joe Furlong is a multifaceted graphic artist based in South London specialising in drawing, sign writing, mural painting and screenprinting. He is the co-founder of the Minesweeper Collective Artists Network and Screenprint Studio as well as the Undercurrents Gallery…

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based in South East London. He has been exhibiting in the UK and abroad since 2007 in both group and solo shows, as well as in Mexico, France, Spain, Italy, China and the USA. He has been leading art based youth work programs since 2014 with organisations such as Prince’s Trust, Centre Point and Progress London.

JAMES NEWSHAM

JAMES NEWSHAM

James graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2012, and gained his diploma at The CASS before joining Progress in 2017. He has a passion to make positive social and environmental change and has particular experience in the public landscaping, commercial…

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and housing sectors. James has worked across the East Midlands, London and China on projects ranging from a small Passivhaus and our award winning food and public art gardens to large-scale textile factories in operation on the outskirts of Shanghai. He is a firm believer in the process of design and is adept in physical and computer modeling as part of the design refinement with strengths in invention, design sensibility, detailing, construction understanding and making.

ILARIA DI FIORE

ILARIA DI FIORE

Ilaria is an artist based in Ladbroke Grove.
The work she facilitated has been exposed in the Museum of London and the Saatchi Gallery.


She works facilitating with different ages groups as well as at her own eco-art.

CHERRI ANDREWS

CHERRI ANDREWS

I became passionate about edible gardening when I was suffering with PTSD, it is incredibly therapeutic but also gave me a chance for a challenge to try growing and eating new varieties of lovingly grown organic produce that I could be proud of…

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(and in my spare time paint them in still life’s).


I studied at Vegetable gardening at Capel manor college and shortly after started working for the Royal parks.

BRIAN CURTIS

BRIAN CURTIS

Brian Curtis has been the lead on Progresses more technically challenging builds, for the last three years. With over forty years experience in the building and renovations industry, in the UK and Europe. He has been able to lead on…

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medium to large builds, transforming unused parts for inner city, into contractual standard food/decorative gardens, with local community and volunteers. His industry knowledge has added strength and a finishing edge to some of Progresses latter large projects, and continues to do so.

MOSES FOFANA

MOSES FOFANA

Moses is a qualified, experienced structural/civil engineer. He has a number of medium to large scale industry projects in his portfolio. He has, side by side, been working with Progress since 2018 on new initiatives that will be going…

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into our inner city from mid 2019 onwards. His extensive industry knowledge enables Progress to move into spatial design with cutting edge techniques that are being collaborated on, with our Dutch counterparts and wider.