Derek Eland is a multi media artist whose work is primarily focused on engaging with people about what it is like to ‘be human’ in stressful and difficult situations. He is interested in the use of the written word, particularly in a digital age, to access real emotions and thoughts. Much of his work is created on location, particularly through the use of ‘Diary Rooms’, and then re-contextualised in a gallery setting. In 2011 he worked as an official war artist embedded with the British Army in Helmand, Afghanistan. The work which resulted from the time he spent on the front line has been described in the international press as ‘groundbreaking’ and is touring a number of UK and overseas galleries as a solo exhibition starting at in October 2011, culminating at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art in 2014-2015.Derek Eland has a Degree in Politics and a Masters Degree in Contemporary Fine Art. In 2007 his work was short-listed for the International Celeste Art prize and in 2012 his Afghanistan work was short-listed for the Salon Art Prize.
Declan Ryan is working on a PhD on the poems of Ian Hamilton. His poems, essays and reviews have appeared in The Spectator, Poetry Review and elsewhere. He is poetry editor of Ambit and co-edits the Days of Roses anthology series.
Briony Bax is the new editor of Ambit Magazine which is a quarterly literary and art magazine that has been publishing continuously since 1959. She grew up in London and lived in the US for 25 years where she wrote poetry, taught sex education in High Schools for Planned Parenthood, co-produced "Wet Weather Cover" at the Tiffany Theatre in Los Angles, and founded The Orphan Support League which works in Gilgil, Kenya. Briony has served on many non-profit boards including ODC/Dance, Piedmont Educational Foundation and Mji wa Neema. She now divides her time between London and the North Norfolk coast.
