Dawn Airey to take over from Sir Nicholas Serota at Arts Council England

The appointment was made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, under Arts Council England’s Royal Charter.

Airey brings more than 30 years’ experience across the media and creative industries, including senior leadership roles at Channel 5, Sky, ITV, Yahoo! and Getty Images. She is currently chair of the National Youth Theatre and Digital Theatre+, and also chairs the Barclays FA Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship board.

She joined the Channel 4 board in 2021, serving as interim chair from 2022 to 2025, and is currently deputy chair. In 2023, she was appointed Chancellor of Edge Hill University.

Airey was awarded a CBE in the 2024 Birthday Honours for services to theatre and charity. She is also a vice president and fellow of the Royal Television Society, and a fellow of the Royal Society for Arts.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Airey would take on the role at ‘an incredibly important time’ for Arts Council England, as the government seeks to ‘unlock access to exceptional arts for everyone, everywhere’.

Nandy said, ‘Dawn brings more than just a wide range of experience across broadcasting, theatre and the wider arts – she brings a passion for what the arts can do for this country and all the people in it.’

Airey said she was ‘thrilled and humbled’ to succeed Serota, describing him as an ‘arts titan’ who had ‘magnificently and courageously’ chaired Arts Council England.

‘The importance of the Arts Council in championing art and culture has never been more needed because the sector has never been more vital to our nation,’ she said. ‘In a world where AI, technology and automation are increasingly dominant, human connection, experience, imagination and creativity are the things that bring us together.’

She added that Arts Council England had ‘a clear new mandate’ following the recent Independent Review, including a need to support, nurture and protect the arts ‘transparently, with speed and with a fairer distribution of spend’.

Serota said chairing Arts Council England had been ‘a great honour’, citing a decade marked by the pandemic, economic challenges and changing patterns of cultural engagement.

‘In Dawn, the Arts Council will have a leader who understands the unique role the arts play in society and the profound impact they have on individuals,’ he said. ‘I am confident that, under her stewardship, the organisation will thrive and the sector will flourish.’

Darren Henley, chief executive of Arts Council England, paid tribute to Serota’s leadership and said Airey would bring experience across the arts, media and sport.

‘From day one, she’ll be a catalyst for change, helping us in the next stage of our journey championing the value of artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries,’ Henley said.