New Chair and Trustees at Lighthouse
We are delighted to announce some developments in the Lighthouse Board of Trustees with the appointment of our new Chair, Jenni Lloyd and two new trustees, artists Judith Ricketts and Ju Row Farr (Co-Founder of Blast Theory).
Our outgoing Chair, Antony Mayfield, steps down this month, having supported our work over the past five years. He joined in 2015, and together with our Trustees, has led Lighthouse through the successful development of longstanding programmes including Guiding Lights, Last Dance, Re-Imagine Europe and, more recently, Brighton Digital Festival. During his time at Lighthouse, we are proud to have supported 862 artists, realised 24 commissions and delivered 13 mentorship schemes. As well as being home for Afrori Books – the only Black-owned bookshop for Black authors in Sussex.
Antony says:
“Jenni Lloyd is an inspiring and compassionate leader and has a profound sense of the importance of community. I couldn’t be more proud that she has taken on the role of Lighthouse Chair.
I love you, Lighthouse. It has been a unique and deeply rewarding experience to be in the company of such an inspiring team, all of them committed to making opportunities for artists to create amazing things and to give young people their big breaks into the creative life.
These have been a hard five years for all arts organisations – but in many ways Lighthouse is stronger than ever and continues to reinvent itself with the energy and urgency that our artists and young people need. I’m so happy to have been a small part of its ongoing story."
Alli Beddoes, our CEO & Artistic Director, adds: "We are extremely grateful to Antony for his energy, enthusiasm and commitment to our work. He is a true friend to us all at Lighthouse, bringing so much careful guidance and strategic leadership with a sparkling sense of humour to lead us all through the stormiest of waters (especially over the past two years of the pandemic). We wish Antony the very best of things."
New Chair of the Board of Trustees
Jenni Lloyd will be our new Chair of Trustees. Jenni brings decades of experience in a broad range of fields - from the design and production of digital products and campaigns, to organisational design and culture change, to social innovation and systems thinking.
Jenni is particularly interested in place-based change and the role that organisations like Lighthouse can play in bringing together people from different walks of life and generations to share not just space, but positive experiences.
She brings much experience and knowledge of the business, cultural and civic infrastructure of Brighton & Hove having, alongside her employment as a business and social innovation consultant, been a board member of Wired Sussex, Brighton Pavilion & Museums Foundations, and as Chair of Brighton Digital Festival (2017 - 2020).
Jenni says:
"Lighthouse has played an important role in my life - from the 1990s when the education programme helped me embark on my career as a digital creative, to more recently working together to transfer the management of Brighton Digital Festival.
As we emerge into a post-COVID future, artists and cultural institutions are all the more important to propose new, more equitable visions for that future. I’m excited to start working with the leadership team and board to develop Lighthouse’s strategic vision, enabling it to play a pivotal role in the shifting ecology of the city and helping Brighton & Hove fulfil its potential as a leading creative and cultural hub."
New Trustees
We will also be welcoming two brilliant artists to the board:
Judith Ricketts. Artist, Developer and Lecturer Games Art, Design for Digital Media and Animation BA (Hons) at University of Brighton. She brings with her an interdisciplinary approach to making work. She makes site specific interactive work using data about the built environment. She uses this data to tell stories about the imagined and unremembered other, for social change.
The process of making content uses photography, moving image and programming in various combinations. Platforms for delivering this work include augmented reality, virtual reality and chatbots for participants for use in distributed spaces in the city.
She sees the built environment as a place of play; one where stories about the past are accessed and reflected into a contemporary world of diverse narratives for engaging experiences through play. More about her and examples of her work here.
Ju Row Farr. Co-Founder of Blast Theory. Blast Theory are a Brighton based studio who work internationally and have presented projects at Venice Biennale, Tribeca Film Festival, Barbican and Tate Britain and nominated for 4 x BAFTA’s and won the Golden Nica at Prix Arts and the Nam June Paik Art Centre Award. You can find more information about them here.
Jenni, Judith and Ju will be joining our talented Trustees: Antony Gostyn, Antonia Blocker, Elijah, Laura Wade, Michael Cole, Rebecca Groves and Sarah Lee. You can read more about them here.