Laurie Anderson appointed guest director of Brighton Festival

Laurie Anderson has been announced as guest director for the 50th Brighton Festival this year.

Known for her innovative use of technology as well as her 1981 hit O Superman, Anderson has been working at the cutting edge of experimental theatre, music and art for 30 years.

Anderson, who was the first artist-in-residence at NASA, will programme the festival which runs between 7 and 29 May. The 50th anniversary line-up will feature world and UK premieres including The Complete Deaths by Tim Crouch and Spymonkey, which features all 74 deaths featured in the complete works of Shakespeare. Also in the line up is the world premiere of Memory is a Minefield by Argentinian artist Lola Arias, which is performed by Argentinian and British veterans of the Falklands conflict. Neil Bartlett's Stella, about Victorian cross-dressing duo Fanny and Stella, will also be performed along with Until the Lions by Akram Khan.

Anderson is a long-term supporter of the festival and said: "I'm so happy to be serving as guest director of Brighton Festival in its historic 50th year. Our theme of home and place is especially relevant with so many people in the world on the move now looking, like all of us, for a place we can belong."

Anderson follows previous guest directors which include Anish Kapoor, Brian Eno, Aung San Suu Kyi and Vanessa Redgrave.

The full line-up will be announced on 17 February.