Festival chief to take up City of Culture role

The Director of the Belfast Festival at Queen's is to take up a new post as one of the lead drivers of Derry~Londonderry's City of Culture year.

Graeme Farrow, the winner of the 2010 Allianz Arts & Business ‘NI Arts Individual of the Year' award, has been appointed Executive Programmer for Partnerships with Culture Company 2013.
He will assume his new position in September and have special responsibility for delivering the core events of the 2013 programme.

A graduate of Leeds University, Mr Farrow has lived in Northern Ireland since 1994. He joined the Belfast Festival at Queen's in 1999 and has since served as Programme Manager, Deputy Director, and Director.

During his five-year tenure as Director, the festival's box office sales doubled. He brought artists and events such as Ennio Morricone, Black Watch, David Lynch, The History Boys, Valery Gergiev and Buena Vista Social Club to Belfast. And this year's highlights already include internationally-renowned performers such as Carlos Acosta, Kiri Te Kanawa and Elvis Costello.

Mr Farrow currently has overall responsibility for the Culture and Arts portfolio at Queen's University, including the Festival and Queen's Film Theatre.

Mr Farrow said: ‘Derry~Londonderry richly deserves its status as a City of Culture. It has an incredible cultural heritage and is a beautiful canvas for all forms of art. 2013 provides a unique opportunity to celebrate and examine this, both within the city as a community and with visitors from all over the world.

‘I can't wait to play my part and, in particular, to work with Shona McCarthy and the rest of the team to deliver what is a compelling vision.'

Mr Farrow is the fourth person to join the senior management team of Culture Company 2013, the body charged with delivering Derry~Londonderry's City of Culture year. He joins the new Chief Executive Shona McCarthy; Martin Melarkey, Executive Programmer for Community and Educational Programmes; and Communications and Marketing Director Garbhan Downey; all of whom were appointed recently.

Shona McCarthy welcomed Mr Farrow's appointment: ‘Graeme's experience as a programmer on a national and international level, across every major art form, will be key to the success of our project.

‘We have a real chance to establish this city - which is already world-renowned as a city of saints, scholars and peace-makers - as an international centre of artistic excellence. And it is a legacy we hope will endure for generations to come.'