Anne-Marie Crowther has been appointed as the new Director of PANDA. She will take up her post in July.

PANDA (Performing Arts Network and Development Agency) grew out of a need to provide an essential network and development agency for performing arts practitioners in Greater Manchester and the North West. In a few short years it has become an integral part of Manchester’s arts scene, stimulating the growth of the independent performing arts sector in the region. PANDA is a key contributor to the fact that the North West has the fastest growing creative industries sector in the UK outside of London.

As the new Director of PANDA, Anne-Marie is charged with ensuring the continued success of the organisation as it enters this new era in its history.

Originally a dancer and Royal Academy of Dance Licentiate, Anne-Marie has over 20 years experience of management within the performing arts and also in the leisure, voluntary and commercial sectors. Anne-Marie has worked with a diverse range of performing arts companies including Adzido, Jasmin Vardimon Dance and Common Lore Storytelling. She thrives on initiating new ventures and has previously established a dance centre, a gym and co-founded York Hub, an incubation centre for freelance artists and entrepreneurs.

Anne-Marie says: “I am really excited to be joining PANDA. Globally, we are entering a period of stormy waters and I look forward to being part of an organisation that not only seeks to offer anchors for the performing arts, but surf boards so that the sector might benefit from the waves!”

Anne-Marie inherits the legacy left by outgoing PANDA Director, Liz O’Neill, who left the organisation in May to take up the role of Chief Executive at Zion Arts Centre in Manchester. During Liz’s 6 ½ years as founder and Director, she developed PANDA from a pilot project into a respected industry organisation with a secure future. PANDA is now a recipient of regular funding from Arts Council England and is responding to an ever-increasing demand for its project management service. Anne-Marie is enthusiastic about building on these strong foundations and taking the organisation forward into the next chapter of its development.

Chris Lethbridge, Acting Chair, is confident that Anne-Marie is the right person to lead PANDA into the future: “We are delighted to welcome Anne-Marie to the organisation. Her work to date is both positive and inspirational and she has a wonderful blend of professional experience and personal attributes that make her the ideal figurehead to drive PANDA onwards and upwards.”

Anne-Marie takes up her new post on Monday 6th July 2009. Julia Turpin will stand in as Acting PANDA Manager in the interim period.

www.panda-arts.org.uk