new festival director

it has just been announced publicly, but at the start of November Fiona Stuart will become only the fifth Lichfield Festival Director in 28 years. To quote from the press release Fiona is

currently director of the Chorlton Arts Festival and also community outreach manager for the Royal Northern College of Music.

She replaces Richard Hawley, director since 2004, who has accepted a fellowship with the Clore Leadership Programme, and leaves Lichfield at the end of October.

Fiona said: “I am delighted to have been offered the post of Festival Director of The Lichfield Festival. The Festival has helped to place Lichfield on the map as a centre for wide-ranging and innovative arts and has an important place in enriching the life of the local community. I am excited about getting to know this community and also about working within such a strong, established team.

“With a successful 28-year history behind it, the Festival has established itself as a forward-thinking and groundbreaking arts organisation, and I look forward to building on the success of Richard Hawley and his predecessors in bringing together the best in local, national and international arts.”

As director of the Chorlton Arts Festival, Fiona was responsible for planning, promoting and delivering one of the largest festivals in Greater Manchester, and over three years was able to double the size of the festival and treble its audience figures.

At the Royal Northern College of Music she has been part of a team devising and delivering community events, providing participation opportunities for over 2,500 young people. As part of this programme, Fiona produced West Side Story, the largest project ever undertaken by the outreach department and designed to give talented children from deprived areas the opportunity to work alongside professional directors, choreographers, musicians and theatre crew.

Nick Sedgwick, Chairman of the Lichfield Festival’s board of directors, said: “We selected Fiona from a strong field of candidates from around the country for her special combination of qualities and experience. Her work at Chorlton and at the RNCM involves the whole community and she will quickly bring those skills to bear in Lichfield. “