Toks Dada appointed head of classical music at London's Southbank

Toks Dada will be joining the Southbank Centre as head of classical music from December 2020. He brings with him the promise of far-reaching changes and innovation in a post-Covid era for the centre, which is currently closed for live performances due to coronavirus restrictions.

Dada is currently classical programme manager at Town Hall Symphony Hall. In the new position at Southbank Centre he will work alongside Bengi Unsal, head of contemporary music, and Gillian Moore CBE, director of music and performing arts. He has been at the forefront of re-imagining cultural life in the UK, in an era where the impact of the pandemic on the arts is likely to be long-term: 'Arts organisations that operate venues can be too easily confined by the box of the concert hall or theatre,' he recently wrote in his blog. 'For art to survive in the long-term, we need to separate the art from the building and think outside of the literal box. Rather than settling on a strategy to preserve bricks and mortar, the strategy also needs to include producing art. We need a new business model driven by art, and it starts by asking ourselves this: If we were starting from scratch how would we approach what we do?'

On his new appointment, Dada said: 'It is a tremendous honour to be appointed head of classical music at the Southbank Centre, particularly at this time. Following what has been an incredibly turbulent year for us all, I am really looking forward to collaborating with artists, colleagues, and partners, across the Southbank Centre and the wider community, as we work together to re-imagine the future of classical music.'