B Atherton

Hi, I’m B, one of Turf’s Codirectors.

I grew up in and live in Croydon. I’m one of Turf’s co-founding team assembled by Alice Cretney in 2013.

I’ve done a bit of everything at Turf! I started out responsible for Turf’s marketing, including creating a lot of Turf’s visual identity & printed (except for our iconic logo which is by Bethany Baker). I moved into overseeing Turf’s operations and strategy and became Codirector in 2021. I can still occasionally be found fixing a toilet.

Outside of Turf I’m a CoChair of Croydon Makers & Creators, an independent legacy group of Croydon’s Borough of Culture year, aiming to support the stability of the cultural sector in Croydon long-term.

I also designed & made this website – so please tell me if anything’s broken!

Things I’m interested in:

• Using humour to process & poke at difficult things and unpick a world prone to both oversimplification and overcomplication.
• Hyperlocalism & degrowth.
• Privatisation, homogenisation.
• Sincerity (or lack thereof) & the effects of positivity culture.
• Medical experience – I have Niemann Pick B, so have spent a lot of my life in hospitals whilst trying to resist disability defining my identity.
• Accidents & serendipity, the sublime vs the banal.
• Problem solving, using data as armour and a tool which can be turned against its usual masters.