Jude Kelly

Jude Kelly is a renowned theatre director and producer, the founder of The WOW (Women of the World) Foundation, Battersea Arts Centre, and Solent People’s Theatre, and co-founder of SmartPurse. Across her glittering five-decade career, Jude has had quite the extraordinary influence on the arts industry. She now takes her extensive creative and leadership experience to inspire others on complex topics as a vibrant and motivational public speaker.

Jude’s career began back in 1976 with her founding of Solent People’s Theatre and then Battersea Arts Centre in 1980. Next came various Director roles throughout the 1980s for National Theatre of Brent, Royal Shakespeare Company, York Festival & Mystery Plays, Channel 4, and Theatre & Opera Productions for English National Opera. In 1989, she founded The West Yorkshire Playhouse, of which she was Artistic Director and CEO for 13 years. By 2004, Jude had moved into a Director position at Paco Pena Flamenco Company, before settling into her Artistic Director role at South Bank Centre for 12 years, proving herself an innovative, original, and talented leader for the largest cultural institution in Britain.

Furthermore, Jude has worked as Arts Advisor for the UK Government (2009) and Creative Director at International Festival for Business (2014). Additionally, she has sat on the National Advisory Committee for Culture, Creativity and Education, is a Visiting Fellow at The London School of Economics and Political Science, and founded Metal Culture, a platform for creative ideas to be developed. In recognition of her services to the arts, Jude was awarded a CBE in 2015. Also named in Theatreland’s Top 100 Players and 100 Most Powerful Women in the UK, Jude has solidified her position at the forefront of British culture. 

Currently, Jude Kelly is devoted to her work as Artistic Director at Ripples of Hope, and as the Founder and Director of WOW Festival, an international event held in London to recognise the achievements of women. Jude often shares her time as a speaker, too, aiming to empower women, champion the arts, and increase exposure for the challenges faced in the industry. She has taken to the prestigious TED stage on numerous occasions with talks such as ‘Why Women Should Share the Stories of Humanity’ and ‘Help I Need a Man’. A determined and fearless pioneer in the arts, Kelly is the ideal speaker to inspire, educate, and motivate any audience.