Barbican Theatre, Plymouth have today announced that Laura Kriefman has been appointed as their new Chief Executive Officer.

(Image credit Drew Cox)

Laura Kriefman is an award winning Choreographer and Artist with over 15 years’ experience as a creative, a producer and commissioner across theatre, dance, and interactive tech. She joins Barbican Theatre after 10 years spent delivering interdisciplinary projects worldwide that fuse the performing arts and creative technology, created through her company Hellion Trace Ltd (formerly Guerilla Dance Project) and three years as Creative Producer, Tristan Bates Theatre (London).  Laura specialises in fusing movement and technology together.  Recent work includes winning the Smart Oxford Playable City Commission (2017), Kicking The Mic (toured 2017-2020) and Crane Dance Bristol (2015).

She is a Quest Lab Artist in Residence at Studio Wayne McGregor, Mozilla XR Studio Fellow 2018, UK Innovator in Music 2017 (Keychange.eu) a 2016 INK Fellow, 2015 WIRED Magazine/The Space Creative Fellow and a 2011-2012 Fellow of the Clore Cultural Leadership Programme.

Laura says

 “I’m so excited to be joining the thriving Plymouth cultural scene at this time, and am looking forward to being part of the Barbican’s future. Barbican Plymouth is in a brilliant position to become a key lynchpin in the UK’s live performance and tech scene. To become a go-to destination creating the next generation of pioneering practitioners who are armed with not only great theatre and dance skills but also the confidence to work at the leading edge of creative contemporary physical storytelling in the UK. ”

Matt Hall, Barbican Theatre Chair says

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Laura Kriefman into the city. The Barbican Theatre has always been in the vanguard of innovation and change and this appointment ensures that the theatre continues its ground-breaking work. Laura will continue the theatre’s strong tradition of talent development with young people, emerging artists and communities bringing 21^st century expertise into how performance is made and distributed. Laura’s creative skills, digital expertise and national and international connections make her the ideal candidate for Barbican Theatre and Plymouth as the city’s cultural ecology goes from strength to strength”.

Laura has been a guest speaker at INK, WIRED, ReMIX, SxSW Interactive, World Science Fair (New York), IRCAM Paris, the Southbank Centre, and TEDxRoma, TEDxDanubia and TEDxLondon, and has experience of advocating for organisations, and showcasing leadership beyond the arts sector. She is also a sought-after facilitator in the field of digital and dance – and was recently brought in as an expert facilitator with Candoco, and with Y-Cam in Japan at the Kyoto Experiment.

Barbican Theatre is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) and Laura joins the core team of seven as they prepare to write their new vision for 2021 – 2024. This work will form the basis of Barbican Theatre’s application for NPO status for the next 4 years.

She will also work with the Barbican team on the Thrive Emerging Artists programme, FUSE: Diverse Dance project and provide strategic leadership around young people’s training outreach programmes and the Barbican’s own, and co-produced, work.

Laura will assume the new role on 4^th May 2020, following a brief period of hand-over from current CEO and Barbican Theatre co-founder Sheila Snellgrove.