Our Team
Arts and Heritage Education professionals who love Scottish history and have a talent for communicating with, teaching and nurturing a wide range of audiences
Where it all began
A shared love of history and learning
We each have many years experience in heritage, tourism and education but with different specialisms. This allows us to offer our customers tailor made projects that can incorporate many different aspects including visual art, drama, writing, storytelling and world of work skills
Knowledgeable and reliable
The Team
Karen Kyle McKenzie
Director
Karen set up Illuminate UK in 2006 seeing an opportunity to use her drama training and experience working in heritage and tourism, in learning settings.
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Karen has established and managed Junior Tour Guide programmes for Historic Environment Scotland, Rosslyn Chapel and the Scottish Seabird Centre. She has also developed a range of learning programs and activities for learners, visitors and staff at Historic Environment Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland amongst others.
She has managed the community learning and outreach program at Trinity House Maritime Museum which includes everything from project managing and overseeing multi-partner projects to draping the museum in fake spider webs at Halloween!
She has also designed and delivered world of work, back to work and careers workshops and events for Springboard Scotland and Skills Development Scotland.
Karen is a qualified Mental Health First Aider and Arts Award assessor.
Nicola Wright
Storyteller, historical interpreter, tour guide and trainer
Nicola is a storyteller, historical interpreter, tour guide and trainer who combines her passion for history with a love of dressing up.
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Nicola trained in History and Politics at the University of Warwick and her career has spanned education, tourism, support work for vulnerable adults and their families and training, including training tour guides for Mercat Tours.
For Illuminate UK she provides workshops, training and tours at Trinity House Maritime Museum, Craigmillar Castle and Linlithgow Palace. She has driven forward the outreach program at Trinity House, delivering programs to develop links between school pupils and homes for older people, developing a family program of trails and activities and taking her storytelling session out to early years centres.
Nicola is a qualified Mental Health First Aider and Arts Award assessor.
Hannah Ayre
Artist, educator and creative producer
Hannah is a participatory artist, educator and creative producer. She works with audiences to create socially engaged artwork, ranging from small-scale crafts to large-scale installations and events.
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Her Illuminate portfolio includes heritage themed arts and craft projects and creative garden design. Projects start with participants discovering historic sites, objects and archives. Groups then go on to create individual or collaborative art works which respond to the themes they have been engaged with.
Victoria Bianchi
Theatre maker, educator & researcher
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Her work explores feminism, history and autobiography, and she has created several site-specific theatre performances in addition to more traditional works.
As writer-in-residence for South Ayrshire Arts Partnership, she created three new plays exploring the interplay between space, gender and heritage in performance practice. She has worked as a writer and facilitator for a number or organisations including, amongst others, the National Trust for Scotland, MacRobert Arts Centre, A Play, A Pie and A Pint and the Tron Theatre.
In addition to her theatre work, Victoria lectures in Drama and Performance at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
Callan MacCormick
Actor, drama workshop leader and script writer
Callan is a presenter, acting tutor and production manager who adapts scripts, directs and creates productions with both training students and in professional theatre.
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Callan trained in Psychology at the University of Stirling and her career has spanned education, tourism, training, and theatre work. She has worked with children excluded from school, young carers, inclusion in the arts projects, adult mental health groups and women’s groups on drama based projects for confidence and wellbeing.
For Illuminate UK she provides workshops and training at Claypotts and Huntly castles. She has presented character led tours in first person in Stanley Mills and in schools as Mary Queen of Scots and a WWII teacher. She also led a drama project at Queen’s gallery, Holyrood Palace, bringing to life Canaletto’s Venice with groups of visiting school children.
She works closely with SQA Acting and Musical Theatre courses at various centres in Scotland.
Lindsey Gibb
Storyteller and Workshop Leader
Lindsey is a professional storyteller with over 10 years experience, telling in a variety of places from historic buildings to woodlands.
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She spent many years working in education in the environmental sector leading and teaching a huge range of groups from pre school to older people.
More recently she has become involved in working in history, heritage and archaeology and joining Illuminate UK fulfils her ambition of working in heritage education.
She looks forward to working with the schools and believes anyone can tell a story and be a storyteller.
Ruth Heggie
Drama Workshop assistant
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Ruth trained as an actor in PASS at Edinburgh College to gain an HND in Acting and Performance. Ruth then went on to study for her BA Honours Dance and Drama at Edinburgh College in partnership with Kingston University London.
knowledgeable and flexible
Delivering high-quality work with a friendly and knowledgble team
We pride ourselves in our flexibility – approaching each new client and project with open minds and an open manner. It is important to us that clients know they are in experienced hands yet with a fresh, creative and dynamic approach.
If you have any questions please just get in touch.