ACE grant and new director for this year's Fuse Medway festival

 Fuse Medway is a free arts festival, one which has just received a £100,000 Arts Council grant. It also has a new artistic director – Megan Donnolley. Donnolley is Australian with considerable experience of dance, theatre and comedy events, including Sydney's fringe and comedy festivals.

Now London-based, she has curated public and community art projects and is co-director of the London international comics festival, Comica. She has also worked on a number of large-scale outdoor events and in contemporary music as an agent and festival producer.

Donnolley comments: "The Fuse Medway Festival is a really exciting mix of spectacular outdoor events. community participation, thought-provoking art – and it's accessible to all. I'm very much looking forward to getting to know the communities for which it's created and taking it on to the next level".

Medway Council’s portfolio holder for community services Councillor Howard Doe adds: “We’re extremely grateful to Arts Council England for their generous grant, which enables us to bring some of the most innovative and high quality street arts events to Medway, as well as giving local artists and creative groups the opportunity to showcase their talents".

Fuse 2013 will take place between 14 and 16 June, preceded by the Lighting the Fuse event. Visitors to the festival can expect to see Medway’s streets and open spaces filled with exciting and inspiring entertainment nd lots of free arts events for all the family throughout the weekend.