Our Team
Sarah McBriarFounder & Creative Director
Sarah McBriar is the Founder & Creative Director of AVA & UP Productions, specialising in large-scale festival and conference creation, production design and programming across the
Audio, Visual Arts sector
Joe Baran
Event Director
Specialist production lead for live events, working closely with numerous agencies & respected industry professionals in the UK & around the world.
Joe is capable of conceptualizing & delivering complex special events in challenging environments for local & global audiences at scale. Joe is competent & experienced in leading production, operations, site & logistics teams in green fields, urban centres, established venues & blank spaces.
Victoria Buckley
Finance Director
Victoria has spent over a decade working with various large-scale corporate and government clients as a financial advisor.
Conal O’Neill
Senior Operations & Business Development Manager
As Operations Manager Conal oversees all operational aspects of our company strategy, working across our portfolio of products, from our festival in Belfast to our London Conference – and new projects we’re taking to market in 2023.
Conor McTernan
Senior Marketing, Partnerships & Programme Manager
Conor oversees all marketing & content strategy for AVA brands & management of the internal team. He leads on partnerships, conferences programming & the day-to-day of putting our projects on the international stage.
Emmett Costello
Senior Programmer & Curator
Emmett is an event curator, producer & marketer who has worked across the Northern Irish & UK creative sectors for over 8 years. Working with AVA, he has led on programming, partnerships & marketing across events in Belfast, London, Manchester, Dublin & Glasgow. He is now the lead on artist curation & programming.
Senior Programmer & Curator
Emmett is an event curator, producer & marketer who has worked across the Northern Irish & UK creative sectors for over 8 years. Working with AVA, he has led on programming, partnerships & marketing across events in Belfast, London, Manchester, Dublin & Glasgow. He is now the lead on artist curation & programming.
Dave McDonogh
Senior Producer
As Head of Production across AVA & UP! Production projects, Dave brings a wealth of experience from previous campaigns including Senior Production Manager on behalf of several London agencies & production companies for leading brands such as Apple, Android, Huawel & New Balance. Dave has delivered festival sites, product launches, exhibitions, fashion shows, pop-up retails and music tours - as part of campaigns & standalone events.
Senior Producer
As Head of Production across AVA & UP! Production projects, Dave brings a wealth of experience from previous campaigns including Senior Production Manager on behalf of several London agencies & production companies for leading brands such as Apple, Android, Huawel & New Balance. Dave has delivered festival sites, product launches, exhibitions, fashion shows, pop-up retails and music tours - as part of campaigns & standalone events.
Charley McDermott-Edwards
Designer
Charley is the designer at AVA Festival, having joined in 2023.
He has had a varied career as an animator, artist and ‘motion-first’ designer having worked for Boiler Room, Amazon Music and Cashmere Radio in addition to his freelance clientele across TV and broadcast industry. Charley works to implement forward-facing motion and design into AVA’s campaigns with an eye fixated on the digital arts community. To this end he has collaborated with external studios to work on AVA’s campaign, executing studio-led design practice for AVA’s visual identity.
Additionally Charley works as a digital artist with an experimental and explorative workflow, creating experiments in CG art using Cinema 4D.
Designer
Charley is the designer at AVA Festival, having joined in 2023.
He has had a varied career as an animator, artist and ‘motion-first’ designer having worked for Boiler Room, Amazon Music and Cashmere Radio in addition to his freelance clientele across TV and broadcast industry. Charley works to implement forward-facing motion and design into AVA’s campaigns with an eye fixated on the digital arts community. To this end he has collaborated with external studios to work on AVA’s campaign, executing studio-led design practice for AVA’s visual identity.
Additionally Charley works as a digital artist with an experimental and explorative workflow, creating experiments in CG art using Cinema 4D.
Saoirse Doody
Junior Producer
Saoirse Doody is a dynamic and multi-skilled professional working across AVA Festival and UP! Productions. From advancing artists and shaping standout merchandise to orchestrating seamless event production, she brings energy, vision, and flair to every detail. Saoirse is all about making unforgettable experiences come to life.
Junior Producer
Saoirse Doody is a dynamic and multi-skilled professional working across AVA Festival and UP! Productions. From advancing artists and shaping standout merchandise to orchestrating seamless event production, she brings energy, vision, and flair to every detail. Saoirse is all about making unforgettable experiences come to life.
Ciarán BittlesMarketing & Events Producer
Ciarán is a multidisciplinary creative in the Belfast music & performing arts community. Ciarán joined AVA & UP! in 2021, as Marketing & Events Assistant and has been busy putting his touch on our social media channels & IRL events.