Alastair Duncan – Founder and Director
The creator and developer of StillWalks, Alastair has been working with photography throughout his working life and, since the 1990s, with the expanding area of interactive digital media. This has included animation, video and sound recording amongst others. These techniques have been at the heart of many of the projects Alastair has worked on with schools and communities in South Wales but it is the approach and experience he brings to his personal work as a visual artist that has made the projects unique.
Having originally trained in tapestry weaving Alastair’s creative work with StillWalks is informed by his interest in texture. The StillWalks video resource reveals this through his approach to both photography and sound recording as he looks and listens for the textures, patterns and colours that surround us in different environments.
Having won awards and gained numerous grants for his work in the arts and education, as well as exhibiting widely in Britain and internationally, in 2010 Alastair received a research and development grant to explore the concept of StillWalks followed by a setting up grant.
Alastair’s unique background in leading innovative interactive projects to develop understanding and insight through a wide range of educational and community resources has brought him a range of clients such as Forestry Commission Wales (now Natural Resources Wales), Natural Resources Wales, Swansea Education Effectiveness Service, Countryside Connections (City and County of Swansea), The Hesley Group and many more.
He now uses his depth of experience and understanding in the the arts to bring the benefits of the StillWalks resource to as wide an audience as possible.
Paul Allen – Associate Director
From the consequences of 60 hour weeks within a live to work culture, Paul’s beliefs in the maintenance of a stable & harmonious work/life balance within an ever more demanding, pressure-driven society, has convinced him of the tangible benefits that taking time-out in the natural environment can bring – Not only to personal well-being but also to the corporate environment. His association with StillWalks is not only a business relationship but also a personal journey for himself and a desire to bring these personal benefits, well-being advantages and corporate efficiencies to a wider audience.
With a progressive career in both public and private sectors that has encompassed successful international business development, training programme design and delivery, medical contract management, tender bid writing and the management of specialist services to support people with disabilities in the workplace, Paul has worked across a broad spectrum of industry and commerce. He is both an accomplished small business mentor and has also worked on collaborative joint ventures with major plc.
From experiences within medical recruitment, he developed specialist knowledge of medical services across the defence sector and within secure environments, helping transition several organisations from recruitment partner into full medical & service provider, securing long term contracts with several police forces, prisons and UK Border Force, to supply and manage the clinical teams caring for those in custody.