Here 2016 gets another stellar addition in director Kim Gehrig

Following a year jam-packed with astonishing work, we’re thrilled that Australian-born, London-based director Kim Gehrig will join the speaker line-up at Here 2016 next month.

Kim’s weighty showreel includes commercials, music videos and shorts for the likes of Ikea, Cadbury and Amnesty International, not to mention some of the most ambitious and talked-about ads of the past year. Her This Girl Can campaign with Sport England inspired women up and down the country to forget judgemental internal and external voices to pursue their sporting goals in a celebration of grit, determination and body-positivity. Her expertly choreographed slot for Honda saw the automotive company’s HR-V model cavort with a huge troop of spritely dancers, who spelled out the car’s name by flashing their colourful shirts.

Ending 2015 on a bang, Kim directed the John Lewis Christmas ad – the first woman to land the hugely sought-after job. Kim’s endearing slot featured a girl who spies an elderly man sitting on the moon, wordlessly communicating the fuzzy glow of seasonal goodwill while also encouraging viewers to tackle the very real issue of loneliness at Christmas. We can’t wait to hear this esteemed director discuss her process, new projects and how to combine advertising with a empowering social agenda.

As well as Kim Gehrig, Here 2016 speakers include artist Bob and Roberta Smith, photographer Nadav Kander, design director of The New York Times Magazine Gail Bichler, makeup artist and illustrator Isamaya Ffrench, illustrator Malika Favre and visual artist Yolanda Domínguez.

We will also be welcoming creative director at MTV Richard Turley, co-founder of Turner Prize-winning collective Assemble, Joe Halligan and Omar Sosa and Marco Velardi, art director and editor-in-chief of Apartamento magazine.