Susmita Bhattacharya

Damian is the Hampshire Poet 2024-26. He works with arts organisations, councils, schools, museums and community groups to get people to connect & have fun performing  and writing poetry. He also does commissions and residencies.  Damian is an experienced spoken word poet. He’s performed at events and festivals around the UK (Royal Albert Hall, Edingburgh Fringe, Brighton Fringe, WOMAD) and The British School in Rome. ” With written and spoken word, images and performance I explore how we live now: with each other, the more-than-human world and our changing climate.

I am a Wiltshire-based visual artist and consultant working with people and places through commissions, projects, residencies, walks and workshops. I work with media of relevance to each place, its ecology and heritage, from ‘natural’ and recycled materials, to photographs, text, sound and video. Previous Hampshire residencies have included working with Spud (New Forest), John Hansard Museum (Southampton) and Andover Museum. My consultancy work includes writing for publication, mentoring for emerging artists/creatives, and advisory work/professional development for the arts/heritage and environmental sectors. Access and inclusion is key to all my work, with a particular focus on the value of queer and neurodivergent voices/experiences.

I am a professional visual artist and creative producer, celebrated for vibrant, layered explorations of colour. Guided by synaesthetic perception, my meticulously crafted abstract works transform sound and emotion into striking abstractions that captivate with both energy and depth. I collaborate with musicians and sound designers closely and have exhibited internationally, with work represented by Saatchi. I have over 20 years of working in the Rushmoor community as a creative producer, founded the music charity Forward 4 Wiz Trust in 2007 and currently work at Aldershot’s West End Centre as the Community Programmes Manager.