John has long been driven by what arts can do to revitalise communities and to influence public life more generally.
Since autumn 2019 he has been Chair of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, inspired by the vision of the great illustrator.
In 2014, he established and ran the Creative Industries Federation, the world’s first umbrella body for the entire creative sector. It was an extraordinary journey, seeking to give culture a political heft it long deserved but had previously not enjoyed.
He set up and chaired Turner Contemporary, which, coming up to a decade since opening, is one of Europe’s preeminent arts-led regeneration projects. Two of the highlights were accompanying the Queen in November 2011 and the Duchess of Cambridge in 2015. But what gave him most inspiration was the enthusiasm of the local residents - a perfect case of local meets global. To think that for years it was a derelict car park...watch the video below marking the gallery’s fifth birthday and a video of a discussion with artist Jeremy Deller, one of many who have exhibited there.
In April 2021, he chaired an event to mark the 10th anniversary of Turner Contemporary, in discussion with Maria Balshaw (Director, Tate), artist and filmmaker John Akomfrah and Marie Lavandier (Director, Louvre-Lens).
