How Kully Thiarai, CEO of Leeds 2023, aims to transform lives through power of culture

Kully Thiarai, the creative director and CEO of Leeds 2023, remembers one teacher who didn’t believe she would leave a lasting impression on the world outside her home.

She recalled: “I grew up in Smethwick in the West Midlands and my parents worked in a factory. As the eldest child I often needed to be the voice of the family.

“Sadly, some of our teachers did not expect us to amount to much. I remember one of my maths teachers saying that when I grew up, I would only need to know how to count my husband’s money.”

The teacher should have been forced to eat his words. His pupil went on to run a national theatre company, and in her latest role, she is poised to lead the celebrations of a city’s international year of culture.

Leeds 2023’s ambition is to deliver a transformational year of creative experiences and create a lasting legacy of economic and social change. It aims to be a dynamic and inclusive response to the cancellation of the UK’s participation in the European Capital of Culture competition.

It is run by the Leeds Culture Trust, which is chaired by the broadcaster Gabby Logan, and Ms Thiarai, who is renowned for her bold work exploring themes of diversity and community, wants it to appeal to every section of society. The trust is an independent charity, set up in 2019 by Leeds City Council. Before taking up her position at Leeds 2023, Ms Thiarai was artistic director and chief executive of National Theatre Wales.

She was also the founding director of Cast, a performance venue in Doncaster and has served as an artistic director of Contact Theatre Manchester, the Leicester Haymarket Theatre, Theatre Writing Partnership and Red Ladder Theatre Company.

Not bad for somebody who was once dismissed as just a coin-counter. Yorkshire has been at the heart of her career journey, although initially, her aspirations did not focus on the stage.

“I was lucky enough to get to university and came to Bradford to study applied social studies with a social work qualification,’’ she recalled.

“When I came to Bradford the world opened up for me. There were so many connections and a strong artistic community in Bradford in the early 1980s.

“I was encouraged to join the drama group at Theatre in the Mill, which was welcoming theatre companies from around the country.”

Her knowledge of social work proved to be the passport to a new career.

She said: “I was waiting tables to pay my way and in my final year of university. I got a phone call at the restaurant from Red Ladder theatre who wanted me to help them build relationships with social services and probation to reach young people; I started my working life as a broker for them and eventually became a stage manager.

“I often say that I ran away to join the theatre. I worked with them for a couple of years and got to know writers who have become established names.

“I went back to being a social worker, but the draw of the theatre was too strong. I realised the skills I had gained in social services, working with children and young people to help them understand the world they were in were also useful in the world of theatre.

“Being a social worker is in some ways not that different to being a director in a rehearsal room.”

“When I became Artistic Director and Chief Executive of National Theatre Wales, I was the first person of colour to run a national theatre company,’’ she recalled.

“To have responsibility for a whole nation seemed to be quite a formidable responsibility.

“I had learned a lot about the importance of making a community feel embedded in the theatre. We ended up staging the largest cultural event that had ever been seen in Wales.

“We celebrated the centenary of Roald Dahl in Cardiff with a weekend of surprising happenings and adventures kick started by the arrival of a giant peach in the centre of the city. It was an exhilarating experience.

“Yorkshire has been my home for such a long time and gave me so much, I wanted to pay it back by taking things forward for a new generation. This city and region has opened up so many opportunities for me; so my story has come full circle in a way.”

Leeds Culture Trust has secured the backing of major investment partners to support the development and delivery of the year-long cultural celebration. A £500,000 funding package from Paul Hamlyn Foundation, for example, will support a major project that will take place in the lead up to and during Leeds 2023. It will feature artists working in the heart of communities across all 33 wards of the city.

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has awarded more than £288,000 to support a range of activities including a creative learning programme and opportunities for children and young people. £150,000 has also been secured from the British Council, which is already working with Leeds 2023 to support creative partnerships between Leeds artists and international collaborators to create new works for the city’s landmark year of culture.

But what can we expect to see and experience when Leeds 2023 begins in earnest?

“I want it to be a transformational moment that shines a light on the whole city,’’ said Ms Thiarai.

“There are more than 170 different languages spoken in the city and culture really helps to create meaning and define a place.”

She hopes Leeds 2023 will also highlight the range of skills and jobs supported by the arts. She aims to recruit 2,000 volunteers to support the festival and ensure that every child in the city gets the chance to take part in some way.

“Creating opportunities for young people is very important to me,” she said. “The cultural sector has taken a real battering. Culture is not simply a ‘nice to have’ but plays a core role in health and wellbeing. By working collaboratively we will strengthen the ecosystem of a great cultural city. “We are shining a light so that investment can come into the city to support that creative potential.”

Name: Kully Thiarai

Title: Creative Director and Chief Executive, LEEDS 2023

Education: Bradford University – BA in Applied Social Studies & Certification of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW)

Favourite Holiday: Any of the Greek islands

Last Book read: The Blood Divide by AA Dhand

Favourite Film: Monsoon Wedding

Favourite songs: One by U2

What is the thing you are most proud of: My son!