The 2020 Annual Lord Mayor’s Gresham event will explore the value of culture for The City of London.
The City of London is not only a great place to do business but also has a rich and vibrant cultural offer making it a great place to live, learn, work and visit. It is home to a year round programme in the Square Mile led by the City of London Corporation’s Cultural & Visitor Services. Culture Mile, which stretches from Farringdon to Moorgate, is led by the City Corporation in partnership with the Barbican, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London Symphony Orchestra and Museum of London, who together are leading the animation of the whole neighbourhood with imaginative collaborations and events.
Best wishes
This Gresham Lecture will highlight the significant social and economic impact of culture on the City, London and the UK, highlighting the connectivity between trade, innovation and culture.
This event will be introduced by a poem written and performed by Gabriel Akamo.
Speakers include William Russell, Lord Mayor of London, and the directors of some key cultural institutions: Kathryn McDowell CBE, DL, London Symphony Orchestra, Lynne Williams, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Sir Nicholas Kenyon CBE, the Barbican Centre, and Sharon Ament, Museum of London.
Alderman William Russell took office as the 692nd Lord Mayor of the City of London on 8th November 2019 and was elected to serve a serve a second year in office through 2020/2021 to ensure continuity of leadership during the pandemic. He served as a Sheriff of the City of London in 2016-17 and, in that capacity, supported the then Lord Mayor, undertaking numerous visits and official functions.
His mayoral theme for the year is Global UK - The New Future and seeks to connect through Trade, Innovation & Culture.
William has over thirty years’ experience in the financial and business City including holding senior positions in the national and international Banking sector. In 1987 he went to work for First Boston Corporation before joining Merrill Lynch in 1992 as an Investment Banker in Institutional Equity Sales, working in Asia, New York and London.
Nicholas is an English music administrator, editor and writer on music. He was responsible for the BBC Proms in 1996–2007, after which he was appointed Managing Director of the Barbican Centre.
Sharon Ament is Director of the Museum of London, a cultural ambassador for the Mayor of London and member of the Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board; on the London Area Council of Arts Council England, Chair of the London Screen Archives and Co-Chair of the Women Leaders in Museums Network.
She is a Noyce Leadership Fellow, a member of the Conseil Scientifique of Universcience in Paris and on the International Advisory Board of the ArtScience Museum in Singapore.
Since joining the Museum in 2012, Sharon has been steering the next phase of the organisation’s development to more fulsomely reflect the energy and dynamism of London itself.
In 2015 she announced plans to build a new museum for London in West Smithfield, which is due to open in 2024. Public consultation on the design scheme of the new museum was launched in July 2019.
Lynne joined the Guildhall School as Principal in January 2017. Under her leadership, the School has achieved Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework; has been named as the UK’s number one conservatoire and as the world’s number seven performing arts training institution.
Prior to Guildhall, Lynne held a variety of arts, education and culture posts both in Australia and the UK including as Director/CEO of Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).
Lynne has a deep commitment to arts education and increased public access and has developed and promoted work across the full spectrum of the arts. Her experience in performing arts began in Australia where she studied and performed as a professional singer and was instrumental in setting up a new music theatre company and a new creative arts faculty for the University of Wollongong.
In 2019, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her services to the Australian and international arts industries, and especially for her work in arts education and training.
Kathryn is a British classical musician and businesswomen. Since 2005, she has been the managing director of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Gabriel is a Nigerian-British poet, actor, facilitator, and creative producer based in London. He is a proud Barbican Young Poets alumnus, member of the National Youth Theatre, and a former Roundhouse Resident Artist (2016-17) with Spit the Atom Poetry Collective.
Photograph: Catarina Rodrigues, 2018
