Born: December 28, 1968; Died: June 7, 2021 Stephen Palmer, who has died aged 52, was a highly regarded and deeply respected arts development officer who made the business of arts funding human, understandable and non-threatening. My long-term colleague and friend, Stephen was born in Stockton on Tees to parents Barbara and David and was the middle brother of David and Victoria. Following his foundation year at Cleveland College of Art and Design he graduated from Middlesex Polytechnic with a degree in fine art and English. On graduation he secured his first job in the arts at the Dovecot Arts Centre in Stockton where he held a variety of roles including being artist in residence at a local secondary school, teaching print-making to unemployed young people in communities in East Cleveland and managing the gallery and film programmes at the centre. These early experiences seem to have been formative in shaping Stephen’s interests and roles throughout his career, including his passion for working with young people, his belief in the power of creativity to transform lives and his love of film and all forms of contemporary culture.