Hackney Carnival Artistic Director

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The London Borough of Hackney is planning to deliver a live Hackney Carnival in September 2022.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This event will be the first, full-scale live carnival event since Hackney Carnival 2019, due to the impact of the Covid pandemic.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As such, the event will present a unique opportunity to create a very special Hackney Carnival that celebrates the long-awaited return of the event to Hackney&rsquo;s streets.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The carnival typically provides carnival groups, DJs, performing artists and school groups with the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of mass audiences, and involves a 2.5 mile procession around Hackney&rsquo;s streets, as well as static event areas.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Prior to the hiatus caused by the pandemic, the carnival was growing in popularity and scale, culminating in 2019 with approx 88,000 people watching along the streets and in static event areas.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hackney&rsquo;s carnival groups and sound systems have continued to have a creative outlet during 2020 and 2021; the carnival was presented as an online programme of short films and live streams which collectively reached 157,592 people.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These online programmes were produced by a team of four co-curators who created a range of platforms for the carnival groups and a range of opportunities for Hackney&rsquo;s residents to get involved.&nbsp; Highlights included an ambitious programme of community engagement in schools, older people&rsquo;s groups and libraries, a pop up carnival flash mob, a gala event at the Hackney Empire and a carnival weekender of sound systems and carnival arts.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The above activity kept the momentum going for the carnival artists and audiences alike and the levels of engagement demonstrated the very strong commitment to the event in the borough.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is possible that the revival of the live outdoor event in 2022 will create even bigger audiences than in 2019, as pent up demand for the event is finally met.&nbsp; Such an increase in scale would be exciting for artists, it would raise Hackney&rsquo;s profile as a cultural destination and would bring more visitor investment into the local economy. However, increased size brings its own challenges - both operational and also in terms of maintaining the local, community nature and atmosphere of the event.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Artistic Director will be instrumental in ensuring that the event develops with its authenticity, community focus, inclusivity and accessibility intact. This role requires leadership and coordination of the local carnival sector, the wider creative community and other stakeholders in Hackney. A good knowledge of the history of Hackney Carnival and understanding or experience of working with Hackney&rsquo;s Carnival groups would be desirable.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Artistic Director will be managed by the Council&rsquo;s Cultural Development Team, but will work on a day to day basis to develop carnival plans with a newly appointed Carnival Manager.</span></p>