‘An ideal fit’: Phil Hargreaves named as new director of Freedom Festival
‘I’M EXCITED’: Phil Hargreaves. Picture credit: Déda
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
Freedom Festival Arts Trust has appointed Phil Hargreaves as its new festival director.
Phil, an award-winning creative producer, will officially join the team on September 2, following the closing events of this year's festival – the last to be curated by Mikey Martins, who was festival director for nine years.
The trust also announced the appointment of Karen Hall as the new chair of the board of directors, who joined earlier this year.
Aged 36, Phil brings a wealth of experience to the role and most recently served as the interim lead for culture and head of creative programmes for Bradford Council. In that position he played a pivotal role in developing the cultural ecology, including revamping Bradford's festival offerings.
He also contributed to BD:Festival, an international event that enlivens Bradford’s public spaces with arts, culture, and heritage experiences. Additionally, he developed a new festival, BD:Is LiT.
“Freedom Festival is uniquely Hull, yet connected nationally and internationally,” Phil said. “The festival’s reputation for premiering exceptional cultural experiences and its ethos of creating dialogue around social issues are what attracted me to the role.
“I’m excited to continue delivering great art while pushing for additional resources and partnerships to grow the offer and range of work we do.”
‘CHALLENGING CLIMATE’: Karen Hall
His vision for Freedom Festival aligns closely with the organisation’s ethos of making culture accessible to all. Growing up in a low-income, single-parent household, he experienced first-hand the transformative power of free cultural events. This background fuels his commitment to bringing extraordinary experiences to public spaces.
“Culture brings happiness and joy, helps people thrive, and builds confidence,” Phil said. “It does way more than just watching a show in the street. My goal is to continue providing those opportunities and explore new ways of transforming public space throughout the year.”
Karen said: “I believe the Freedom Festival is for everyone. The charity works very hard each year to balance festival delivery and build local relationships to showcase many challenged aspects of our society.
“Bringing people together to experience real emotions raised by artistic performance is quite a responsibility for the team to deliver year after year. I was interested in helping the board support the aims of the festival and assisting our executive team with the challenges facing an arts charity in this difficult financial climate, particularly in funding our annual work in the community.”
Karen is the charity lead at Hull and East Riding Medical Research Centre (Daisy Appeal). She was previously CEO of Mires Beck Nursery for five years, a charity supporting the freedoms of adults with learning disabilities while championing the environment through their work and therapies.
She added: “Phil's passion for inclusive, impactful cultural experiences makes him an ideal fit for Freedom Festival. We're confident his leadership will help us continue to push boundaries and create unforgettable moments for our audience.”