Stella Hall- Board Member

I am  a freelance creative producer, committed to connecting people and place through culture.  After a varied career including co – founding  Green Room, Manchester, leading  Preston Guild 2012 and the Culture10 programme supporting Festivals and Events across the North East, I co-founded Festival of Thrift, the National Festival of Sustainable Living. I led the organisation to NPO status before stepping down in November 2022.  Alongside producing place shaping consultancies  I regularly advise cultural organisations on strategy and younger cultural professionals plus volunteering in a range of local and national projects to share and exchange skills.

What expertise do you bring to the board ?

I have only just joined, so hope to complement the great people already on board. I have over forty years of working across the UK in various cultural  contexts, and hope to bring to the table skills in supporting artists and creating new work which really  resonates and engages with audiences.

What excites you about IOU – why are you a board member?

I am inspired by the constant reinvention, imagination and creativity of the company and look forward to going on the next stage of the journey

Tell us about a cultural experience, past or present that has inspired you the most.

I saw Katarzyna Kozyra’s re working of the Rite of Spring on a 7 screen video installation in Warsaw’s National Gallery of Art  in 1999. I was astonished at the complete engagement of the elderly naked “dancers” whose movements were stop-framed to create the illusion of dance.  It has been interpreted in various ways, but I found it an extremely empowering work, maybe even more so now that I approach the age of some of the participants!