Jonathan Holloway
festivals/events
Melbourne International
Arts Festival
Artistic Director & Co-CEO, 2016 - 2019
The flagship arts event of Australia’s cultural capital: 19 days of world-class theatre, opera, dance, classical and contemporary music, circus, visual arts and outdoor performance.
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Artistic highlights:
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Taylor Mac's 24 Decades History of Popular Music
(commission/first presentation outside US)
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Philip Glass's La Belle et la Bête
(Australian Premiere)
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Cie Carabosse Fire Gardens
(for 30k people in the Royal Botanic Gardens)
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Sydney Morning Herald said of the 2017 Festival
“the strongest Melbourne Festival in years ... if you didn’t see it, you missed a landmark theatrical event”
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www.festival.melbourne
Perth International
Arts Festival
Artistic Director, 2012 - 2015
The longest running annual international multi-arts festival in the southern hemisphere and one of the largest festivals in the world: 23 days of world-class theatre, circus, dance, contemporary and classical music, film, visual and public art, outdoor spectaculars, literature and free events.
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This period saw one of Australia’s most significant cultural transformations, boosting Perth Festival’s profile through record-breaking audiences, international premieres, and deep connections with Aboriginal artists.
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Artistic highlights:
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Commissioning/premiering Philip Glass's final three piano etudes.
Exclusively presenting ENO/Met Opera's Madama Butterfly and Berliner Ensemble/Robert Wilson's
Threepenny Opera.
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Opening with an audience of 30,000 people dancing in the streets, as angels and two tonnes of feathers fell from the sky.
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Closing with 1.4 million people walking with giants through the city centre.
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Norfolk & Norwich Festival
Artistic Director & CEO, 2005 - 2011
The UK’s longest-running arts festival, and a flagship organisation for the East of England.
Jonathan and the team revitalised the festival,
turning it from a traditional classical music festival into a dynamic, multi-arts celebration. He introduced
large-scale outdoor spectacles and innovative collaborations, increasing attendance tenfold and elevating the festival's international profile.
By 2010, it had become the third-largest city arts festival in the UK, featuring a programme that included site-specific work, circus, a children’s festival, and visual theatre. They delivered CreativePartnerships for Norfolk, and incorporated Contemporary Arts Norwich, the region’s visual arts biennale, to widespread acclaim.
Elemental
France
Creative Director, 2003​
A nocturnal world of visual theatre, circus, film and puppetry to a soundtrack of cutting edge live music and a festival within a festival at Chalon dans la Rue, France's most prestigious street theatre festival.
At its heart was a newly created theatre show bringing together Forkbeard Fantasy, Company FZ, Avanti Display and 12-piece club/jazz group Homelife.
Royal National Theatre, London
Founded and led the public programmes department, 1997 - 2004
The Royal National Theatre, located on the South Bank of the River Thames in London, is one of the world’s foremost performing arts venues. Established in 1963, it presents a diverse repertoire of classic and contemporary productions, championing bold, creative approaches in theatre. The National is home to three auditoriums—the Olivier, Lyttelton, and Dorfman theatres—as well as vibrant public spaces that host an array of events. Through extensive touring and digital broadcasts via NT Live, it reaches audiences worldwide.
Jonathan launched and ran pioneering festivals and performances that broadened its impact, including the Watch This Space Festival, with programming that amplified the theatre’s role as a cultural hub on London’s South Bank, making it a vibrant focal point for community and artistic activity.
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