This episode of the new series of Wales Arts Review‘s arts and culture podcast, Gary Raymond talks to Graeme Farrow, the Artistic Director of the Wales Millennium Centre.
As Cardiff prepares for the Festival of Voice in June, Gary and Graeme discuss tribalism in Wales, a European vision for the Millennium Centre, and mixtapes, in a wide-reaching interviewing.
The tracks you can hear in the podcast are:
“Judy is a Punk” by The Ramones
“Hustler’s Ambition” by 50 Cent
“Fame” by David Bowie
Graeme Farrow biog:
Born and brought up in Sunderland, Graeme graduated from Leeds University in French and Philosophy before moving to Northern Ireland to undertake his MBA at the University of Ulster. He has since pursued a highly successful career in the arts in Belfast and subsequently Londonderry.
In 1999, Graeme joined the team of the Belfast Festival at Queen’s, the largest international festival on the island of Ireland, becoming director in 2006 and building the festival’s reputation into one of the must-see arts festivals in the UK and Ireland in the lead-up to its 50th anniversary in 2012. During this period he became Head of Culture and Arts at Queen’s University, Belfast, responsible not only for the festival but also the Queen’s Film Theatre and the Naughton Gallery.
Most recently, Graeme held lead responsibility for the design and delivery of a £14.1m programme for the first UK City of Culture in Derry, which has been recognised as a critical success by local people, critics and the media. Much of its success can be attributed to Graeme’s input, not only his creativity but also his ambition, with which he delivered the prestigious Turner Prize outside of England for the first time in its 29-year history.
Graeme was the first recipient of the Northern Ireland Arts Individual of the Year Award and was named one of Northern Ireland’s highest achievers under the age of 40.
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