42 candidates submitted their applications after the call opened in August. After two rounds of interviews, a written assessment and an external evaluation, Diane Tobes was chosen as national coordinator while Valérie Quilez will manage the international branch of operations.

The Kultur:LX board decided on the double appointment to “guarantee an equitable implementation of the national and international missions of the association and better respond to the numerous expectations of the sector,” it said in a press release.

Tobes was in charge of the cultural programme at Neimënster for ten years before joining the Luxembourg City Film Festival in 2015 where she managed projects and partnerships.

Quilez will be returning from a posting to Luxembourg’s cultural representation in France, which she has led since its foundation in 2009. The programme aims to enhance opportunities for artists from both countries on the other side of the border.

Prior to her job in France, Quilez managed communications for Luxembourg’s 2007 European Capital of Culture programme and had worked in theatre and for numerous festivals.

The newly appointed coordinators will take up their posts on 1 February 2021.

Kultur:LX is designed as an arts council for the grand duchy and will house under its roof existing programmes, such as Music:LX and Reading Luxembourg.  

Among its tasks will be to organise tours and exhibitions of Luxembourg artists abroad, translate literature into other languages, strengthen Luxembourg’s presence in international art festivals and run exchange and artist-in-residence programmes, among others.