Madani Younis appointed as Southbank Centre creative director

He will take up the post in January 2019, having spent six years running the Bush Theatre.

Creative director is a new role at Southbank Centre, created following the departure of Jude Kelly who held the title of artistic director.

Younis will work with Hayward Gallery director Ralph Rugoff and director of music Gillian Moore to put together the programme for the 17-acre South Bank site which includes the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room.

"I'm delighted to welcome Madani Younis to Southbank Centre as our new creative director," said chief executive Elaine Bedell.

"It's my priority to ensure we bring world class arts and performances to all audiences and I know that Madani will bring a new energy and vision to our site and iconic venues.

"We want to provide bold, diverse and ambitious artistic programming here and Madani's arrival signals that we are entering an exciting new era. Together with Ralph Rugoff and Gillian Moore, we now have an unrivalled and outstanding senior artistic team in place."

Madani Younis said: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining Southbank Centre and extremely excited about this new chapter in my life. I'm looking forward to joining Elaine, Ralph and Gillian to develop impactful, forward-looking cross-artform collaborations and, as part of the wider artistic team, bringing world-class art to audiences old and new."