Jeremy Deller (b.1966, London) studied History of Art at the Courtauld Institute and at Sussex University. He began making artworks in the early 1990s, often showing them outside conventional galleries. With projects including 'The Battle of Orgreave' (2001) and 'We’re here because we’re here' (2016), Deller is known for works that involve people and that explore the themes of performance art and popular culture.

Mary Beard is Professor Emerita of Classics at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Newnham College, where she has taught since 1984. She has written numerous books and articles on ancient history and archaeology, including 'The Parthenon' (2002), 'Pompeii: Life in a Roman Town' (2008), 'Laughter in Ancient Rome' (2014) and 'SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome' (2015). Her book 'Women and Power: A Manifesto' (2017) was based on two lectures first given in the British Museum. Beard has presented many BBC television documentaries on Roman history and art more generally. As well as a DBE (2018), Beard was awarded the Wolfson History Prize (2009), the Bodley Medal (2016), the Princess of Asturias Award for Social Science (2016) and the Getty Medal (2019).