David Shrigley has been announced as the guest director of the 2018 Brighton Festival, the first visual artist to be given the directorship since Anish Kapoor back in 2009.
An artist appreciated by both the art world and the general public, David’s satirical and hilarious depictions of everyday life through illustration, sculpture and even song, make him an ideal candidate for the festival’s director, in a city which is now his home too.
“Like Brighton Festival, David Shrigley’s work is for everyone,” says Andrew Comben the festival’s chief executive. “Both powerful and funny, his work manages to navigate ‘high’ and ‘low’ art and speak to an incredibly wide audience. Alongside his own artwork, he has also joined in championing the power of the arts to help health and wellbeing. We are thrilled that David is bringing his distinctive take to the festival and the city he has now made his home. We look forward to a programme that we hope will entertain and inspire.”
The Brighton Festival will take place from 5 – 27 May with the full programme details to be announced in February 2018, however the festival has confirmed that the event will host exclusive new works by the artist. A few extra events have also been revealed including, Grand Finale by Hofesh Shechter, Calixto Bieto’s The String Quartet’s Guide to Sex and Anxiety and The Voice Project’s Arms of Sleep.
“The great thing about Brighton Festival is that you see things that are really thrilling and wonderful that you’ve never heard of before,” says David on his appointment as director. “What I’m looking forward to about the role of guest director is having the opportunity to not only see a lot of stuff and programme stuff but also make some artwork myself and have it presented in the place where I live. I think it’s a really nice way to communicate with people, to meet people and invite people to come to Brighton.”David Shrigley follows curators Kate Tempest (2017), Laurie Anderson (2016), Ali Smith (2015) and Brian Eno (2010).
Share Article
Further Info
About the Author
—
Lucy (she/her) is the senior editor at Insights, a research-driven department with It's Nice That. Get in contact with her for potential Insights collaborations or to discuss Insights' fortnightly column, POV. Lucy has been a part of the team at It's Nice That since 2016, first joining as a staff writer after graduating from Chelsea College of Art with a degree in Graphic Design Communication.