The Keble Association Arts Leadership Awards

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Congratulations to Zihe Ran, Solène Gadsby, Magdalena Lacey‑Hughes, Ariana Garcha, Amos Sopher and Daphne Harries, who were presented with this year’s Keble Association Arts Leadership Awards (KAALA) at the annual St Mark’s dinner on Sunday.

The awards recognise and celebrate artistic excellence and leadership, students who are initiators, innovators and doers, and are made possible through generous funding from Keble alumnus Mike Fawcett (1972 Literae Humaniores). The 2026 winners are:

Solène Gadsby (2024 Chemistry) has taken up a range of creative leadership roles across Oxford publications, including acting as Creative Director of The Keble Fig and ISIS magazine, and Editor-in-Chief of PHASER magazines. As well as numerous design projects and musical performances, Solène showed strong drive for artistic technique improvement and insightful reflections on artistic process and the requirements of different mediums.

Ariana Garcha (2024 History and Politics) has an impressive and wide-ranging involvement in journalism, photography, and event production, showing obvious dedication and strong organisational skills. Alongside numerous external projects, Ariana also serves as JCR Arts & Publications Officer and Keble Arts Festival President. Ariana showed clear leadership and insightful consideration of the challenge in keeping established formats fresh and engaging.

Daphne Harries (2024 English Language and Literature) has displayed an impressive artistic output in poetry, which included publication of a debut poetry pamphlet, a judging role for the Aurora Youth Nature Writing Prize, and editorial leadership in launching the Undergraduate Academic Review. Daphne’s work has been recognised across numerous Poetry publications and awards. Daphne demonstrated originality and the development of editorial skills, perceptively balancing creative freedom and publication demands.

Magdalena Lacey‑Hughes (2024 Theology and Religion) has shown broad participation across a range of roles, including as Choreographer, Director, Producer and Marketing Lead in a several different theatrical productions. Magdalena demonstrated both artistic achievement and empowering leadership. The founding of Crazy Child Productions was particularly impressive and demonstrated strong innovative leadership that has also benefited other students across the University and College.

Zihe Ran (2025 MSc Social Science of the Internet) was awarded a KAALA for participation in the 2026 Oxford Spring Gala as the Assistant Director, Stage Manager and Head of Media Relations, roles which involved coordinating more than 20 diverse performances. As well as screenwriting and acting in the short film project ‘The Fourth Petal’, she demonstrated original thinking while managing complex topics.

Amos Sopher (2022 Modern Languages) was awarded a KAALA for his role in the band ‘Laid Off’, including numerous performances, writing and production work, and the release of an original debut EP. Amos showed a clear passion for music, alongside skill development in production and marketing. There was a thoughtful maturity in decision-making that demonstrated true collaborative leadership.