Eckhard Thiemann
Programmer, curator and cultural manager
Born in Germany, based in London, I am an independent curator, programmer and arts manager, specialising in contemporary Arab culture, dance and international cultural programming and exchanges.
I was Artistic Director and CEO of Shubbak, London’s largest festival of contemporary Arab culture and was Associate Artistic Curator for CODA - Oslo International Dance Festival in October 2017. I worked as freelance producer for The Space and twice with Siobhan Davies Dance as interim Creative Producer.
I was producer for the London 2012 Festival and the Cultural Olympiad and curated the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival 2011 as well as acting as adviser for the 2014 festival. I curated OUTSPOKEN – NEW PERFORMANCE FROM ARAB ARTISTS for International Dance Festival Birmingham (2010), and produced African Crossroads for Dance Umbrella (2009). I programmed the opening season of Pavilion Dance and the conference Digital Futures in Dance. Previously I was artistic director of Woking Dance Festival, and Year Of The Artist coordinator for South East Arts.
Recently I was a consultant for London Borough of Richmond to develop the inaugural Arts & Ideas Festival (2023) and the 2025 Dance Commission; led on international development for LOD in Ghent, Belgium and Theater an der Ruhr in Mülheim, Germany; was Selector of Sadler’s Wells Rose International Dance Prize, jury member of the Theatre & Dance Panel for Made in Scotland 2024, and member of the dance jury for Sky Arts Awards 2024. I regularly lead artists’ talks, and post-show discussions, as well as mentor artists.