THE TEAM behind Coventry’s bid to be City of Culture in 2021 has made a key appointment.
Laura McMillan, who lives in the city and moves from a marketing role at the Royal Shakespeare Company, has joined as the Coventry 2021 bid co-ordinator.
Laura’s passion for arts and culture – as well as her background within the sector – made her the stand-out candidate for the role, which attracted regional and national interest.
She said: “I am so excited by this opportunity.
“Culture and the arts are my real passions – as is the city of Coventry – and this role brings all of those together.
“As someone who lives here, who works in the cultural sector and also enjoys culture and art, I can see the challenges that the city faces but also the great opportunities that bidding for City of Culture will bring.
“Part of my work at the RSC has been around analysing who our audiences are and how to reach different communities.
“That’s something I want to bring to this role and I am looking forward to getting started.
“I visited the Imagine Hillfields photography exhibition at Fargo which was a perfect example of how culture can engage with communities.”
Laura was born in Scotland and moved to England at the age of four.
She moved to the West Midlands at the age of eight and has lived in Coventry since 2009.
Laura studied at Ashby School in Leicestershire and then read drama at the University of the West of England.
She worked for Warwick Castle until August 2011 before moving to the RSC.
David Burbidge, the chairman of the bid steering committee, said: “We are delighted to have found someone with Laura’s experience, skills and, above all, a real passion for both culture and Coventry.
“She is precisely the type of person we wanted to attract to the role and we believe she will really help to draw together all of the expertise to make the bid a successful one.
“What’s great is that Laura understands the city’s strengths and the challenges and how all of that goes into the melting pot as we work up a compelling bid.”
