31/08/2026
✨ Meet Tasha St John-Reid ✨
Operations Manager, Artistic Director, illustrator and community arts practitioner, Tasha has called Darling home for many years and has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of community development, the arts, education and visual communication.
Since 2010, Tasha has served as Operations Manager of The Darling Trust, where she oversees organisational systems, programme coordination, stakeholder engagement and the day-to-day running of the community-based NGO. Her work supports a range of educational, social and community development initiatives, with a strong focus on collaboration, communication and long-term sustainability.
Tasha is also the Artistic Director of Voorkamerfest, the much-loved community arts festival founded in 2003. Under her leadership, the festival continues to bring together local homes, artists, performers, storytellers and audiences, creating meaningful opportunities for cultural exchange while contributing to Darling’s unique cultural identity and tourism economy.
Before moving into her current roles, Tasha enjoyed an extensive career as a freelance illustrator, creating work for educational publishers, NGOs, tourism organisations and corporate clients across South Africa. Her illustrations have appeared in educational and literacy materials published by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Macmillan RSA, Maskew Miller Longman, Heinemann Publishers and Shuter & Shooter.
She has also contributed to visual education and awareness projects for organisations including Operation Hunger and the MVULA Trust, helping to develop accessible materials for literacy, health and water-awareness programmes in underserved communities.
After travels that have taken her to Ghana, the UK, USA and Bermuda, Tasha is happiest right where she is — at home in Darling, surrounded by her pets and her community. ❤️
