Announcing Mary Osborn as New Director of LADA
- Date
- 17 Jul 2024
The Board of Trustees of the Live Art Development Agency (LADA) are delighted to announce the appointment of Mary Osborn as the new Director, following an international recruitment process.
Mary Osborn. Image Christa Holka
Mary joins LADA from Battersea Arts Centre, where she is Senior Creative Development Producer. Prior to this role, Mary spent nearly a decade at Artsadmin, first as Artist Advisor, then as Projects and Programme Producer. Mary is well known in the sector for her advocacy and passion for Live Art practices as a producer, curator and fundraiser. Mary’s arrival at LADA in October will see her working closely with the LADA staff and Board to take forward her vision for the organisation. We are incredibly excited by Mary’s collaborative approach and her commitment to inclusivity, artistic experimentation and risk.
Mary says on the appointment: ‘I am both overjoyed and deeply humbled to step into the role of Director of the Live Art Development Agency. LADA’s commitment to radical practice has been a vital touchstone to me and so many others across the arts community, and this is an incredible opportunity to build on its unique legacy. We are witnessing some of the hardest times for artists and arts organisations to experiment and take risks. I am excited to take a bold, collaborative approach to finding new pathways through this challenging landscape, to work closely with amazing artists and partners to shape the vision for this next chapter, and reimagine a vibrant and welcoming future for Live Art together.’
Beci Jamieson, Senior Relationship Manager, Combined Arts, Arts Council England wrote to welcome Mary to her new role: ‘The Arts Council would like to congratulate Mary on her appointment. Her extensive national and international networks, combined with her bold artist focused vision will no doubt guide LADA in an exciting future direction.’
The LADA Board of Trustees would like to thank the patrons and LADA staff past and present for all they have done to support the organisation in recent years. The interest shown in this role, and the many brilliant applications we received showed how much love and care there is for LADA.
We would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to former Director Ria Righteous and current Director Ruth Holdsworth for their incredible work in maintaining LADA’s stability and activity during a particularly challenging period.
More announcements will follow in the coming weeks, but we look forward to welcoming Mary to LADA.
Robin Deacon
Chair of the LADA Board of Trustees
Robin Deacon. Image Joshua Sofaer
Biography
Mary Osborn has built a reputation for bold international projects and programmes, supporting artists with trust, care, and creative ambition, and advocating for a more courageous performance sector. As Senior Creative Development Producer at Battersea Arts Centre, she shaped BAC’s programme of commissions, productions, residencies and artist development programmes.
For seven years, Mary co-led D.I.Y. radical performance platform Steakhouse Live, organising festivals and events including regular performance night ‘Tender Loin’ and ‘Slow Sunday’ festival of durational performance. Mary’s long-standing collaboration with Danish curator Emma Møller (osborn&møller) who she met studying Theatre and Performance at Queen Mary University of London has resulted in international programmes including their own festival ‘Bodies Beyond Borders’ and three years as Curators-in-Residence with City of Women festival in Ljubljana.
Mary has worked closely with artists on significant projects such as the extensive four-year development of Cade MacAskill’s ‘The Making of Pinocchio’, Ama Josephine Budge’s ‘The Apocalypse Reading Room’, and the vacuum cleaner’s ‘Madlove Takeover’ as well as many others as a Producer at Artsadmin and independently. During her time at Artsadmin she also developed the Toynbee Studios public programme including ‘What Shall We Build Here’ festival of art, climate and community.
In 2021, Mary undertook a DYCP on the role of care in curating and producing, which saw her undertake a one-year foundation course in Integrative Humanistic Therapy, a learning that has evolved into a continuous practice that runs deep through her work and interests.
Mary is currently a Trustee at Fierce.
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