Kate Mosse becomes Festival of Chichester’s first president

Festival chairman Phil Hewitt said: “Dame Patricia Routledge has been a wonderful patron to us for many years, unstinting in her support, but we thought we deserved a president as well! Kate and her husband Greg have been central to the festival pretty much from the moment it was conceived. Kate has always supported us with incredible enthusiasm and generosity – and it felt absolutely right that we should effectively lock her in! Next year sees the festival launch into its second decade of existence. It is great to know that Kate, even more than ever, will be at the heart of all that we do.”

Kate said she was delighted to take on the role: “I remember making my way to the Council Chamber in Chichester in October 2012 to chair a meeting, called by Phil and others, about the idea of setting up a new annual arts festival in Chichester. It was a damp autumn night, and we had a full house – writers, musicians, journalists, producers and poets, venue managers, local councillors and arts funders, actors and cabaret artists, sculptors and potters, dozens of people turned out. There were lots of strong opinions, different opinions, but all connected by the same belief – that Chichester was special, that the quality and range of arts activities in our district was exceptional – old and young, every art form, those who made a living from their art, their sculpture, their acting and those for whom it was a wonderful release at the end of a long working week.

“Slowly, an idea took shape – a festival for the people of Chichester, run by the people of Chichester, to showcase the huge range of talent on offer. It would run for a month, from mid-June to mid-July, and anyone who wanted to take part would be welcome to do so. The aim was to be inclusive, to value the smallest projects alongside those that might fill the nave of the cathedral, or Pallant House, or CFT, and it would be a celebration of how the arts can – and do – lift our spirits.

“As a Chi girl born and bred, I remember taking part in the Chichester 900 celebrations in 1975 – the one and only time I have taken part in maypole dancing. But, mostly, I can remember the emotion of it, the sense of being part of something city wide and bigger than just one event. The sense of belonging. It is a feeling I’ve never forgotten, that possibility of everybody coming together, and it was this spirit that I so applauded about the founders’ aims and dreams for the Festival of Chichester. Since then, I have been thrilled to open each year’s festival on the Cathedral Green together with the mayor and all sorts of performers

“Times are tough, there’s no doubt, and the challenges of Covid and the isolation that came with the periods of lockdown have not gone away. But what we do know is that books, music, film, painting, helped give us all a window on the world. They kept us connected when we couldn’t leave our homes, they took us to other worlds and other places, they brought colour to our lives. In other words, the arts matter. Celebrating the best our wonderful city has to offer matters. It’s why I was honoured to be invited to be President of the Festival.”