Manchester International Festival has added 3 new creatives to its board, as it prepares to open The Factory next year.
Faz Barber, Lamia Dabboussy and Laura Jordan-Bambach have been recruited to bring expertise in media, advertising and youth culture.
Jordan-Bambach is the President and Chief Creative Officer of Grey and a champion of encouraging underrepresented groups to work in the creative industries. A former President of D&AD, she has twice been named as one of Britain’s most influential people in the Debrett’s 500 annual list.
She is also a co-founder of The Great British Diversity Experiment and SheSays.
“I’m hugely excited about joining the board of Manchester International Festival/The Factory,” she said.
“It’s the most inclusive, experimental and creative festival in the UK and a leader on the world stage and I’m pleased to be part of such a wonderful organisation!”
Lamia Dabboussy spent 14 years at the BBC, including roles as Head of Planning and Brand Insight and Director of Arts. During her time there she commissioned 600 pieces from emerging creatives over 3 years through BBC Introducing Arts.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the MIF board at this absolutely transformational time,” she added.
“I’ve long admired MIF’s huge creative ambition – particularly its desire to pioneer new experiences for audiences – and The Factory provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to build on MIF’s mission all year round: working with local communities, talent and partners alongside the world’s best artists to create visionary new work for Manchester and beyond.”
The third new board member is Faz Barber, an architectural designer, poet and performer, who’s been a member of MIF’s Young Peoples’ Forum since 2019.
Barber is the Architectural lead for the campaign group to save the abandoned ‘Hulme Hippodrome’ with the aim to restore the building to its former glory as a community asset.
“It is a huge privilege to lead the MIF board and I am immensely grateful to our board members, all of whom are leaders from the worlds of arts, business, sport, media and civic leadership with international reputations, who choose to give their time and skills freely to help realise our massive ambitions for MIF and The Factory,” stated Tom Bloxham MBE, Manchester International Festival Chair.
