14th December 2015: Fierce Festival, an international biennial of cross-art form performance in Birmingham, today announces the appointment of Aaron Wright as its new Artistic Director. Currently Programmes Manager at the Live Art Development Agency, Aaron will take over from Fierce Festival’s current Artistic Directors Harun Morrison and Laura McDermott in April 2016.
Over the past five years at the Live Art Development Agency, Aaron has co-curated international programmes of live art and has worked as a guest curator and consultant programmer for the National Theatre, The Arches and Cambridge Junction.
Eileen Evans, Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees said: “On behalf of the Trustees, I’m delighted to appoint Aaron Wright as the new Artistic Director of Fierce Festival. We were struck by Aaron’s passion and ambition for Fierce and the city of Birmingham. A dynamic curator and agitator, Aaron’s deep relationship with UK and International Live Art ecologies and commitment to their future really shone through. Building on Laura McDermott and Harun Morrison’s successful tenure and Fierce’s track record of nurturing young, inspiring leaders, the board are committed to working with Aaron to grow Fierce in new and exciting directions.”
Aaron Wright said: “I’m thrilled to return home to the West Midlands and take the helm of an organisation that has been a huge source of inspiration to me. Working at LADA, the world’s leading advocate for Live Art, has given me the best possible experience, expertise and networks for this new role. After Laura McDermott and Harun Morrison’s visionary tenure, Fierce is well and truly on the map as one of the most exciting, provocative and playful festivals of Live Art in the world. I hope to continue Fierce’s history of premiering radical international work in the UK, whilst supporting more established UK practitioners,in turn contributing to a healthy national Live Art scene. I’m eager to grow large local audiences for Fierce without compromising its agenda of staging boundary pushing art. Fierce, at its core, is an agitator unwavering in its interrogation of the status quo. I can’t wait to see where it might mislead us all next.”
Harun Morrison and Laura McDermott said: “We are delighted by the appointment made by Fierce’s board. Aaron Wright has impressed us over the years with his independent projects and work at the Live Art Development Agency. We look forward with excitement and curiosity to what promises to be a bold new future for Fierce.”
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Notes to Editors
Fierce Festival
The next Fierce Festival will take place in October 2017. Across 2016 Fierce will launch a year-round program and the second call out for its West Midlands emerging artist development scheme Fierce FWD.
Aaron Wright
Aaron Wright is a curator and producer of Live Art. He joined the Live Art Development Agency (LADA) in 2010 through the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries scheme and has been their Programmes Manager since 2012. At LADA he has co-curated international programmes of Live Art and speaks regularly on the subject. Aaron has also worked as a guest curator and consultant programmer for the National Theatre, The Arches and Cambridge Junction, as well as co-producing club night Knickerbocker at The Yard Theatre. Aaron also works as producer for the performance artist The Famous Lauren Barri Holstein and is a member of the Steakhouse Live collective. He holds an MA and a BA from the University of Birmingham and is a trustee of Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.