Name Keith Khan | ||
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Keith Khan speaks to the UK Asian
Keith Khan (born in Wimbledon, 1963), studied Fine Art/ Sculpture at Middlesex University and is an Arts Industry Bureaucrat (see discussion). who has had an eclectic career in the Arts Scene and co-founded the arts organisation Motiroti in 1996 with Ali Zaidi. Until 2004, the majority of the artistic events Khan was directly involved with were under Motiroti which produced notable projects such as Flying costumes, Floating Tombs (1991) which won the Time Out Dance and Performance Award; Queen's Golden Jubilee Commonwealth Celebrations (2002) and Alladeen (2004) which won the Village Voice OBIE Award Special Citation, co-produced by The Builders Association. Khan departed from Moti Roti in 2004 and has filled a number of senior executive positions since then, most notably, Head of Culture and then Artistic Executive to the 2012 Summer Olympics (2007 to 2009) and sitting on the panels of high-profile funding bodies, including the Wellcome Trust and as a Council Member of the Arts Council of England. Keith Khan is also a Member of the Advisory Panel of Art on the Underground and was the Costume and 3D Designer for the Opening Ceremony for the Central and Opening Show at the Millennium Dome (2000); Director of Design for the 2002 Commonwealth Games ceremonies under the direction of David Zolkwer.; Chief Executive of Rich Mix (2004 to 2007); Chair of Diversity Group for Creative Economy Programme Working Group (2006) and has been a Member of the Commonwealth Group on Culture and Development since 2009.
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Controversy
Rich Mix – Khan resigned amid questions of leadership and cost controlling. Karen Bartlett wrote in The Times "“Keith was not a natural cost controller, but the board was also weak.” Overstaffing, disputes between builders and architects with some funders temporarily withholding revenue in 2007 until a new business plan could be agreed. Khan did not want to comment on Rich Mix for this article."
London 2012 – While in his role as Head of Culture, Khan was criticised by some commentators for being excessively "anti-elitist". He was commended by others for trying to make the Arts more relevant to young people across the UK. His departure in 2008 was greeted with relief by some in the press and concern by others. The response of Richard Brooks in The Times was "Thank goodness... Keith Khan, its artistic executive, is leaving.".