Arts Council England appoints new members

Arts Council England (ACE) has appointed ten new members to its National Council. The council is responsible for ACE’s governance, and is made up of artists and administrators from the creative sector.

Notable names now on the council include Royal Liverpool Philharmonic chief executive Michael Eakin, 26-year-old poet George Mpanga (known by his stage name George the Poet) and Royal Shakespeare Company executive director Catherine Mallyon.

In addition to the new appointees, existing members David Joseph and Rosemary Squire have had their terms extended.

“It is so important that boards address diversity in the process of recruiting new members,” commented ACE chair Nicholas Serota. “I am particularly pleased to welcome not only our youngest member to date [George Mpanga], but also a National Council that has an equal number of men and women.

“This is work in progress. We, and our sector must continually challenge ourselves about who is representing the public on the boards of organisations, so we can be confident we understand the interests of contemporary society.”

The first task facing the new National Council is the creation of ACE’s next ten-year strategy.

Here is the full list of appointments:

  • Michael Eakin: chief executive of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
  • Catherine Mallyon: executive director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
  • Andrew Miller: arts producer, programmer & strategist.
  • George Mpanga: spoken word performer.
  • Elisabeth Murdoch: founder and chair of Freelands Group.
  • Paul Roberts: chair of the board of directors for the Innovation Unit, vice-chair at Mountview Academey of Theatre Arts and at Nottingham Contemporary.
  • Tessa Ross: CEO of House Productions, a film and television production company.
  • Sukhy Johal: director of The Centre for Culture and Creativity.
  • Kate Willard: head of corporate projects with Stobart Group.
  • Roni Brown: deputy vice-chancellor at the University for the Creative Arts

artscouncil.org.uk