We at BOP are shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden death of Tim Joss in an accident last week. Tim was a long-time collaborator, friend and fellow traveller.

He believed strongly in the ability of arts and creative experiences to do good in the world. But he also understood that this could only be achieved in collaboration with social and other partners, particularly if arts and creative interventions are to scale and reach the many not the few.

These insights and passions led him to set up Aesop - Arts Enterprise with a Social Purpose. Jo Burns, BOP's co-founding director, knew Tim as a friend and colleague since the early 80s and worked with him on several occasions down the years. As a result, Tim reached out to us at BOP during the early days of Aesop, seeking help in crystallising the new foundation's ethos and working methods, which he called their 'Active Ingredients'. 

It was a pleasure to work with Tim on the project and even better to observe how well his first 'arts enterprise with a social purpose' - Dance to Health - grew and scaled over the years, supported by a rigorous evidence base. There are now over 12 Dance to Health groups across England helping older people recover from falls and prevent new ones, all the while participating in a fun, social activity.

Tim was a trained musician and built a career around his passion for the arts, but he had a wide-ranging intellect -  and it was perhaps this that enabled him to be such a good collaborator, and to span the differing worlds of the arts, health, and social care so successfully, in a way that very few have done. We recently had the pleasure of working with him in a small way for an overseas client, and had been talking only this past week about the need to connect a current client with Aesop.

Aside from his distinctive and important contribution to our sector, Tim was above all a warm, generous and humble man who we will miss greatly. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

Signed, 

Richard Naylor, Paul Owens, Jo Burns and Callum Lee