ANDREW RAWLINSON is the new General Manager of Liverpool Empire Theatre. His career has included roles as General Manager of touring theatre company Horse + Bamboo; Executive Director and Chief Executive of Blackfriars Arts Centre; and Manager of the Palace Theatre in Manchester and the Sunderland Empire.
MELANIE KIDD is joining New Art Exchange as Director of Programmes. Prior to this she has been Head of Exhibitions at The National Centre for Craft & Design, and worked at Nottingham’s Djanogly Art Gallery and Lakeside Arts Centre.
JAMES GARNETT, who is the subject leader for the secondary music PGCE and GTP at the University of Reading, has become the new Chair of NAME (National Association of Music Educators). He takes over from SARAH KEKUS.
The new Chief Executive at Shoreditch Town Hall will be NICK GILES, who takes over from SHEILA BENJAMIN. Giles was previously at the Corn Exchange in Newbury, Oxford Playhouse, and most recently the Donmar Warehouse.
Three appointments have been made to the senior management team at Creative Scotland. KENNETH FOWLER, previously Head of Communications at Scottish Natural Heritage, joins as Director of Communications and External Relations; HELENA WARD is the new Portfolio Manager for Creative Industries and Skills; and LAURA MACKENZIE STUART is the new Portfolio Manager for Theatre, Talent Development and Own Art. She is currently Managing Director of arts promoters, producers and consultants, Universal Arts.
SUSAN LANSDALE is the new Director of Oundle International Festival, following the retirement of TRISHA RYAN, who was with the organisation for 24 years. Lansdale was formerly Executive Director of the East Midlands Museums Service, and prior to that worked at the British Federation of Young Choirs, Nottingham’s Lakeside Arts Centre and Harrogate International Festival.
The Opera Group has announced that FREDERIC WAKE-WALKER, founder and Artistic Director of Mahogany Opera company, will succeed JOHN FULLJAMES as Artistic Director when he takes up his new role as Associate Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House.
Company Manager MOYA MALEKIN and Outreach Worker SALLY EDWARDS have left Blue Eyed Soul Dance Company. Two part-time freelancers will be supporting the company’s work until March 2012.
Carnival specialist PAX NINDI has been appointed as the new Creative Director at the UK Centre for Carnival Arts based in Luton. He was previously Executive Director of the Global Carnival Centre, was the founding Artistic Director of Combined Arts Services, and prior to that worked for Arts Council England as Senior Combined Arts Officer.
ROBERT PARKER has been appointed to the role of Artistic Director at Elmhurst School for Dance, starting in September next year. He is currently a Principal dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet.
SALLY TALLANT, currently Head of Programmes at the Serpentine Gallery, London, will be the next Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Liverpool Biennial . She will succeed founding Director LEWIS BIGGS OBE in November.
CHRIS FUJIWARA is to become Artistic Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, which is run by the Centre for Moving Image (CMI). He is currently based in Tokyo, but will be re-locating to Scotland later this year. GAVIN MILLER, the Chief Executive Officer of CMI, has stepped down and KEN HAY is the Interim CEO.
Creative England has appointed CAROLINE NORBURY as its first Chief Executive Officer. Her role will be to develop the new organisation when it starts operating next month as the first dedicated support agency for England’s creative industries outside of London. Creative England will also become the BFI's delegated body for the distribution of National Lottery funds for film.
JO KING and FIONA MCGOWAN have left Cultural Enterprise Office in Glasgow, and LYNN MORRISON has joined as Operations Manager. She has been working in hospitality, event and venue management roles, mainly in the independent film sector.
The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance has announced the appointment of PETE CUNNAH, lead singer and songwriter with D-Ream, who is joining its teaching faculty.
IZZI PYRKE, who was previously at the Barbican, is the new Media Relations Assistant for Rebecca Driver Media Relations.
The Spark Children’s Arts Festival director and founder ELLEN BIANCHINI will be standing down in the autumn. She founded the Leicester-based children’s arts festival, which is due to celebrate its tenth birthday in 2012.
The English Folk Dance and Song Society has appointed SOPHIA LINEHAN, previously Head of Marketing & Communications at Manchester Camerata, as Marketing & Communications Director. Three other new appointments are NEIL PEARSON as Programming Manager, LAURA REID as Learning Manager, and LAURA SMYTH as Assistant Librarian.
ANNAMARI LAAKSONEN has joined the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies as Research Manager. She was previously researcher and senior programme officer at the Interarts Foundation in Barcelona, and she has been a consultant at the Open University of Catalunya in a master’s programme on cultural management.
Producer ANDREW CORNALL is joining the board of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Currently Vice President, Artists and Repertoire, for recording company EMI Classics’, he was previously Executive Director (Artistic Policy) for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.