Dominic Campbell
Dominic Campbell, Artistic Director and Producer, Creative Ageing International, Dublin, Ireland
From 2006 to 2013, Dominic led the “Bealtaine Festival” Ireland's groundbreaking celebration of creativity in older age growing it into one of the countries largest most significant annual events. 700 partner organizations now make around 3,000 events for 122,000 people. Innovation in all art forms takes place across the country in care settings, libraries, and cultural centres. The festival enriches communities and individual lives, establishing new narratives of ageing in Ireland as common wealth.
Previously he transformed Dublin’s St Patrick’s Festival (1999-2004) attracting an audience equivalent to one quarter of the national population to live events while generating global publicity for the city. With that team. Dominic also produced a National Celebration marking the expansion of the EU during 2004.
Dominic has been a member of the Department of Justice and Arts Council of Ireland exploration of “Cultural Diversity and The Arts” advisory group and was a cultural representative on the National Economic and Social Forum Futures Ireland initiative. In 2012 he adjudicated at Tehran’s Fadjr Theatre Festival.
Dominic is primarily a Carnivalist interested in the role art plays in personal transformation as a precedent to cultural and social change. He tries to remember learning takes place with his hands as well as his head.
Dominic was a keynote speaker at the 5th annual international arts and health conference “The Art of Good Health and Wellbeing” at the Art Gallery of NSW in 2013 and participated as a panelist in the first Creative Ageing Forum in Sydney, hosted by the NSW Minister for Ageing, the Hon John Ajaka MP, at the State Library of NSW. Dominic returned to Australia in November 2014 for the 6th annual arts and health conference at the National Gallery of Victoria.
In addition to presenting at Celebrate Creative Ageing Sydney 2015 in August, presentations this year include the National Center for Creative Ageing’s conference in Washington DC and the Long Live Arts conference in the Netherlands, both in May.