Organisers of Manchester International Festival have announced the appointment of Low Kee Hong as Creative Director of The Factory where he will work with its team of curators and Artistic Director and Chief Executive John McGrath to develop a programme for the venue. Kee Hong will take up the role in April, before which he will see out his term as Head of Theatre, Performing Arts with Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD). Prior to joining WKCD in 2014, Kee Hong held a number of roles in Singapore, as Artistic Director and General Manager of the Singapore Arts Festival (2009–2012); Founding Director and General Manager of the Singapore Biennale (2005 to 2009); and Associate Artistic Director of TheatreWorks (2002–2005).
In welcoming Kee Hong to MIF, McGrath has said: ‘Kee Hong is admired by artists, producers and programmers around the world for his passionate, knowledgeable approach to curating festivals and venues. He has worked with many of the world’s great creative figures and is also deeply committed to involving the widest possible range of communities and voices’ and that as well as working with the team at The Factory, ‘he will be leading on the future programme for the Festival – re-imagining MIF for the years ahead in ways that connect both locally and globally. I look forward to welcoming him to Manchester.’
Low Kee Hong has said in a statement: ‘I am truly honoured and excited to be given this amazing opportunity to work with Manchester International Festival and The Factory. It is an organisation I have always admired for its visionary and bold take on what tomorrow can look like. I look forward to working with a team of amazing humans who firmly believe in the extraordinary and transformative experience of the arts for our communities as we build towards futures we all want to be part of.’
