Director, Kendal Arts International

Founding Kendal Arts International in 2006, from almost a standing start, Julie has become one of the leading players in the Street Arts sector in the UK. She now manages Lakes Alive, one of the largest street arts programmes in the UK and a major Olympic Legacy project. 

The new investment in culture, £1 million per year for four years achieved by Julie for Cumbria is both rare and timely for this region and this success can be attributed solely to her vision and ambition.

Julie recognised the potential opportunity for an extremely ambitious project that would create a significant impact in an area where new investment in the arts has been a challenge.  Leading the work on Lakes Alive, Julie harnessed every available opportunity to negotiate active and lasting partnerships with a whole host of organisations in order to ensure the programme achieves maximum impact across the county and enables partner organisations to meet their objectives. 

Through Lakes Alive, Julie’s stature as a respected leader in the region and beyond has grown enormously and she is regularly asked to speak at conferences and events locally, regionally and nationally.  She has recently taken up a place on the Board of Directors of the new regional audience development agency All About Audiences and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.