Kully Thiarai Joins Without Walls Board As Chair
22 October 2024
Without Walls is delighted to welcome Kully Thiarai as the new Chair. Kully will begin her role in January 2025.
Kully brings extensive experience of commissioning, producing, and directing work nationally and internationally. She has created a diverse range of work that spans communities, cultures and performance styles; made large scale epics, new plays and created work for non-theatres spaces.
Most recently, Kully was Creative Director and CEO of LEEDS 2023 – delivering over 1,700 events as part of a £24m international year of culture in 2023 for the city of Leeds. Prior to that she was Artistic Director and Chief Executive of National Theatre Wales. Her 30-year career also includes being the founding Director of Cast (opening the £22 million performance venue in Doncaster as the cultural living room for the town), Artistic Advisor creating the artistic vision for Contact Theatre centring young people at its core, and the Artistic Director of Leicester Haymarket Theatre, Theatre Writing Partnership and Red Ladder Theatre Company.
Kully is currently Chair of new writing company Paines Plough and Co-Chair of Slung Low along with Alan Lane, a trustee of The Art Foundation and National Theatre Scotland. She is an Honorary Fellow of The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and was winner of the inaugural Northern Asian Power list Cultural Icon Award in 2020.
“I am incredibly excited to have Kully join Without Walls as our new chair. Kully’s commitment to creative excellence and artistic vision is widely recognised and highly respected across the arts and culture sector, both in the UK and internationally. As a network of festivals and artists, we celebrate diverse artistic practice and Kully’s experience and expertise perfectly aligns with these values. I look forward to collaborating together to bring exceptional outdoor arts to audiences everywhere.”
Ralph Kennedy
“I’m thrilled to be joining Without Walls as Chair and look forward to working with Ralph, the Board, and the staff team to continue the great work that Jo has done, including her work with Maggie Clarke and XTRAX, in establishing Without Walls as a pioneer in our sector. Equally, to engage and support our network of partners and artists to further our collective mission in cultivating and championing excellence in outdoor arts.”
Kully Thiarai
“In the time I’ve been involved, Without Walls has grown from its beginnings as the initiative of five founding festivals to a network of more than thirty-five partners and work commissioned and toured by hundreds of artists. It has been a dizzying ride, often full of joy along with inevitable challenges. I am grateful to all those who have been part of the adventure – past and present board members, the team at XTRAX now part of Without Walls, all our partners and in particular the artists and companies who are at the heart of what we do. I can think of no one better than Kully to take Without Walls forward, to drive the ambitions and potential of the sector in new and wonderful ways.”
Jo Burns
Jo Burns, the current Chair, will stand down at the end of December, following 12 years with the organisation.
We would like to thank Jo for her tireless commitment to outdoor arts. Under her leadership, Without Walls has undergone meteoric growth, culminating in the organisation becoming a National Portfolio Organisation in 2018. Jo’s passion and knowledge is valued by everyone in the network and across the arts and culture sector.
Kully’s appointment marks an exciting new chapter for the organisation, as we continue to push forward our vision as trailblazers for innovative outdoor arts.