Walk the Plank has announced the appointment of its new Chair of the Board, Dr Beatriz Garcia, Senior Research Fellow in Communication and Media at the University of Liverpool, as the company enters its fourth decade of artistic innovation in outdoor spaces.
Dr Beatriz Garcia is a member of the European Capital of Culture Selection Committee, an expert member of the Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission and has been at the forefront of research on the rhetoric and impact of culture-led city regeneration interventions since 1999.
Dr Beatriz Garcia had this to say about joining Walk the Plank:
“This is a very exciting time to join as chair of Walk the Plank, an organisation I have followed and admired since their origins in the 1990s.
Walk the Plank demonstrates what is possible to achieve when grand spectacle is entirely grounded in community work. It is about generating collective joy that can far outlast the spark of the moment.
I look forward to the next chapter, working across the UK and internationally, protecting our original vision and proving that in order to survive – and move on from – a permacrisis, we must continue engaging communities, celebrating our creativity and finding ways to have fun, while remaining responsible and self-aware. This is what Walk the Plank has pioneered for 30 years and counting!”
Walk the Plank Creative Producer and Co-founder, Liz Pugh says:
“As we develop relationships with global partners while maintaining our European links, we wanted a Chair with a well-honed sense of the value of international practice. Dr Beatriz Garcia’s research has pushed forward the UK’s understanding of ‘cultural capital’ and supported the European Commission and the International Olympic Committee to think about the impact of investment in culture and culture-led regeneration. Her advocacy skills, alongside her focus on challenging us to maximise the impact of the work we make, in public space with public money, will be invaluable. We are delighted that she has agreed to lead the Board as we take forward the legacy of Green Space Dark Skies and plan new projects with collaborators across the globe.”
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