About Us
Circle of Friends
Yassmin Abdel-Magied
Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese author, screenwriter and social advocate.
A former mechanical engineer, Abdel-Magied’s debut literary novel At Sea is forthcoming with Canongate in 2026. Also publishing in 2026 is Silverbrook: Yumna and the Golden Horse, the action-packed first installment in Yassmin’s new teen fantasy series. Previous titles include essay collection Talking About a Revolution (PRH, 2022) and two novels for younger readers, You Must Be Layla (Puffin, 2019) and the award-winning Listen Layla (Puffin, 2021). Yassmin is currently a writer on British continuing drama Emmerdale and her original drama series Cruise Control is in development with the BBC.
The creator of eyesonsudan.net and adviser on the sudandigitalarchive.com Yassmin is dedicated to the civilian movement in Sudan and the celebration and amplification of Sudanese culture. In all her work, Yassmin is an advocate for transformative justice and a fairer, safer world for all.
Malak Mattar
Malak Mattar is a multidisciplinary Palestinian artist.
Malak Mattar (b. Gaza Strip) is a multidisciplinary Palestinian artist whose work is rooted in personal and collective experiences under occupation and siege. She began painting as a teenager, using art as a form of survival and resistance. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in private and public collections, including the British Museum. Mattar is also the Artistic Director of the Together for Palestine Concert and the author of the bestselling children’s book Sitti’s Bird.
Anoushka Shankar
Anoushka Shankar is an Indian musician, film composer and activist.
Sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar is a 13-time Grammy®-nominated recording artist; touring veteran; film composer; artistic curator; published author; impassioned activist. She was the youngest and first female recipient of a British House of Commons Shield at the age of eighteen; an Ivor Novello Award-nominee for her A Suitable Boy soundtrack; an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music; the first Indian musician to perform live or serve as presenter at the Grammy® Awards, and the first Indian woman ever nominated; one of the first five female composers to have been added to the UK A-level music syllabus; and most recently, in June 2024, the recipient of an Honorary Degree in Music from Oxford University.
Immersed from a young age on the world stage, with over a quarter-century’s performing behind her, she is a singular, genre-defying artist across realms – classical and contemporary, acoustic and electronic.
Elif Shafak
Elif Shafak is an British-Turkish novelist and activist.
Elif Shafak is an award-winning and highly acclaimed British-Turkish novelist whose work has been translated into 55 languages. The author of 21 books, including 13 novels, she is a bestselling author in many countries around the world.
Shafak holds a PhD in political science and is President of the Royal Society of Literature and a Public Humanities Fellow at the School of Advanced Studies (SAS). She is a leading voice on freedom of expression, women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights.
Misan Harriman
Misan Harriman is a Nigerian-born British photographer, filmmaker, entrepreneur and social activist.
Photographer, social activist and Oscar Nominated filmmaker Misan Harriman is one of the most widely-shared visual storytellers of this age. He is also the first black person in the 104 year history of British Vogue to shoot the cover of its September issue. In July 2021 he commenced his appointment as Chair of the Southbank Centre, London.
From documenting historic moments in history to photographing high profile celebrities, Misan is a photographer of extraordinary range. His striking images have featured in Vanity Fair, Vogue UK, Harpers Bazaar, People Magazine and The Telegraph among others. His first film, the After starring David Oyelowo is the first Netflix UK original Short and has been nominated for an Academy Award.
Jillian Edelstein
Jillian Edelstein is a South African born portrait photographer and documentary filmmaker.
Jillian Edelstein was born and grew up in South Africa. She graduated as a social worker before starting work as a press photographer in Johannesburg in 1981. She moved to London in 1985 and began working as a freelance photographer in 1986. Her portraits have appeared in the Sunday Times Magazine, the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Time and the New Yorker. Edelstein has received a number of awards including the Visa d’Or at the International Festival of photojournalism in Perpignan (1997) for her work on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Samar Maakaroun
Samar Maakaroun is a designer and creative director renowned for her creatively multilingual approach to design.
Samar Maakaroun is a partner at Pentagram and founder of Right to Left, the multilingual design studio working across cultures, scripts and identities. An award-winning creative director, her work sits at the intersection of culture, design and language, with a focus on building brands that move fluidly between worlds. Raised in Beirut and based in London, she has led projects for clients including Apple, Diriyah, Dubai and the Ministry of Culture. Her practice spans naming, strategy, typography and visual identity, often exploring how language shapes meaning, perception and belonging.
Since October 2023, Samar joined Pentagram as Partner.
