Laurie Anderson has been named the Guest Director for the 2016 Brighton Festival, England's largest annual curated multi-arts festival. Anderson, a long-time supporter of Brighton Festival who performed her piece Delusion there in 2011 and All the Animals in 2015, takes the helm in a milestone year for Brighton Festival as in 2016 it marks its 50th year and reflects on the nature of home. The 50th Brighton Festival will take place May 7–29, 2016.

"I'm so happy to be serving as Guest Director of Brighton Festival in its historic 50th year," says Anderson. "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. I've been part of the Festival several times and it was exciting to watch the city become the heart of so much art. I'm looking forward to being part of it this year."

The 50th Brighton Festival will feature new works from Laurie Anderson alongside exclusives, world and UK premieres from a wide range of international, national and local artists and companies. Full program details will be announced on Wednesday, February 17, but key commissions that can be revealed now include The Complete Deaths, a partnership between two Brighton-based artists—Tim Crouch and Spymonkey—to re-enact every onstage death from the works of William Shakespeare in a funny tribute to mark the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death; Memory Is a Minefield, a new work from Argentinian artist Lola Arias developed with and performed by Argentinian and British veterans of the Falklands conflict; Stella, a theatrical love letter to one half of the infamous Victorian cross-dressing duo Fanny and Stella by Neil Bartlett; and Until the Lions, a brand new, full-length production from award-winning choreographer and dancer Akram Khan.

Alongside the pieces announced at this stage, Brighton Festival 2016 will feature a major new commission in partnership with 14–18 NOW—whose nationwide program of arts experiences seeks to connect people with the First World War—as part of the UK's official centenary commemorations. Brighton Festival 2016 will also see a Books and Debate program delivered in a special partnership with Guardian Live, as well as the return of caravan, May 15–17, a three-day biennial curated industry showcase of the new theatre from across England, which this year features eight performances open to the public.

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive of Brighton Festival says: "We are thrilled and honored to announce such a major international figure as Guest Director for Brighton Festival 2016. In our 50th year, it feels right to reflect on the original intentions of the Festival which from the start were about celebrating international culture, the new and the avant-garde. Laurie Anderson has been experimenting, creating and challenging audiences all over the world for almost as long as Brighton Festival has existed—indeed, she's been a part of the Festival's journey in past years with some very special commissions and appearances in the city. She continues to break new ground in her own work and through collaborations with some of the most promising artists of the future, and we are looking forward to celebrating all this in what we hope will be a very special 50th Brighton Festival in May."

The eighth Guest Director of Brighton Festival, Laurie Anderson follows in the footsteps of visual artist Anish Kapoor (2009); musician Brian Eno (2010); Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (2011); actress and human rights campaigner Vanessa Redgrave (2012); poet, author, and former Children's Laureate Michael Rosen (2013); choreographer, composer, and performer Hofesh Shechter (2014); and award-winning author Ali Smith (2015), who calls Anderson "the performance artist, singer, musician, artist of our lifetime I think—a great, great figure of liberty and liberation of the arts."

For all the details and tickets, visit brightonfestival.org.