Kate Tempest Installed As Guest Director Of Brighton Festival 2017

Spoken word artist to oversee city-wide event...

Kate Tempest is set to become the youngest ever guest director of Brighton Festival.

The multi-talented London-based artist will oversee the city-wide event next year, and wants to make it as open as possible.

The festival runs between May 6th – 28th, with Kate Tempest being given free rein over potential performers. She comments:

"The arts should be social, not elitist. They should be part of our everyday life. They should be in our communities, not only on elevated platforms or behind red velvet ropes. Music, literature, theatre, film – these things are so important, they bring us together into the same space, they give us ourselves, they bring us to life, they beam our humanity back to us in all its hideous beauty. And in these times, with the fear spreading everywhere and the divisions between us deepening daily, we desperately need to remember that we are all part of the same thing. Nothing does that for me more profoundly or joyously than standing in the crowd watching a gig, or a play, or a painting. It's like a little victory you get to keep forever. I want us to offer that experience to everyone.”

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive of Brighton Festival says: “We are privileged to announce such a distinctive and singular talent as our Guest Director for Brighton Festival 2017. Kate Tempest is uniquely positioned to fulfil the role – her seemingly limitless creativity has led to a body of work that straddles an extraordinary array of art forms and has earned her fans of all ages and from all walks of life. She is also passionate about the arts and its power to bring communities together – vital now more than ever. I can't wait to continue the conversations with her as we work towards creating a Festival for next year which I hope will be a true inspiration to all.”

As if that wasn't enough, Kate Tempest also has the small matter of a new album to attend to – 'Let Them Eat Chaos' will be released on October 7th.

Brighton Festival 2017 runs between May 6th – 28th.

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