Impact Arts

Scotland’s Leading Community Arts Organisation

Appoints Lynne Carr To Chief Executive Role

Impact Arts has appointed Lynne Carr as its new chief executive to lead the next stage of the development of the growing creative social enterprise.

Lynne who is currently chief executive of River Clyde Homes, the Greenock-Based housing association, will begin her new role on 1 May.

The appointment is a sign of Impact Arts’ ambitions to grow and to further its strategic aim of becoming the world’s leading community arts organisation.

Lynne Carr will take over the lead role from Susan Aktemel, the organisation’s founder, who will remain with the social enterprise in a part-time ambassadorial role.

Aktemel, who is a well-known and respected leader in the social enterprise sector, has taken Impact Arts from being a one-person business to being a major respected arts and social enterprise organisation with projects across 12 local council areas.

Impact Arts runs a range of projects using visual arts, music, drama, dance and technology to work in local communities with people of all ages.

Carr has been chief executive of River Clyde since 2009 where she has overall direction and management of more than 200 staff and an annual budget of more than £30 million.

River Clyde Homes was set up as a registered social landlord which purchased the former Inverclyde Council housing stock.

Lynne Carr said: “I am absolutely delighted to be appointed as Chief Executive of Impact Arts and build on the achievements of my predecessor, Susan Aktemel.

‘I am looking forward to meeting all our existing partners and making new ones as we develop new projects. It is challenging times for the charity sector as a whole but with the excellent team at Impact Arts, I know that we can continue to grow the organisation and accomplish even more success.”

Susan Aktemel said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be handing over to Lynne. I could not have wished for a better person to take Impact Arts forward.

“We do a lot of work with the social housing sector and Lynne has a very good understanding of Impact Arts and the contribution it makes.

“I am looking forward to working with Lynne on the next stage for Impact Arts.”

John Downie, chair of the Impact Arts board said: “The appointment of someone of Lynne Carr’s standing is a clear sign not only of what Impact Arts has achieved but of where it wants to go in future.

“With Lynne’s appointment and with the contribution of Susan and all of the team at Impact Arts I know we are best placed to take the organisation’s vision and arts-based way of working into more and more communities.”