Sitting in a garret at the top of the ICA with snow blasting across the window, blurring the view of St James Park, there is a timeless quality to the view. The venue is LIFT’s new office and we are gathered for the first Board meeting since the team made the move to the ICA from Trinity Buoy Wharf.

 

There is nothing timeless about the discussion, however; as Mark and the team are revealing their early plans for LIFT’s 30th anniversary celebrations and the 2012 Festival. The plans are equally as  exciting as the brilliant programme for 2010, and bang up to the moment.

 

We’re a bit like kids in a sweet shop presented with so much to feast on: we want to do it all. So, it is sobering to have to return constraints of the harsh economic reality that every cultural institution across the land is grappling with.

 

It is so frustrating to have to spend time scrutinising finances and watching the pennies, when we are presented with endless potential and creativity. But we are optimistic; with such a great programme emerging, we are bound to attract some serious backers.

 

I’ve been involved with LIFT to a greater or lesser extent for nearly two decades and I am the only Board member that spans all three leadership teams. It has given me some of the best experiences of London ever… moments when I have thought ‘thank goodness for LIFT’, as it lifted the lid on something quite special that I’d never have seen without the pioneering spirit of the festival Directors - hunter-gatherers for the globe’s best talent for London.

 

Those life enhancing experiences are at the heart of my personal well being, and in the week when David Cameron launched the ‘happiness index’, it’s a reminder that the arts still must be nurtured and supported to bring their magic into our lives.