About Clive Lyttle
Lewisham born Clive Lyttle is the Artistic Director of Certain Blacks an Arts Council England funded organisation . He has also worked for Arts Council England (ACE) as a Combined Arts Relationship Manager, Senior Manager for Engagement and Audiences and Head of Combined Arts SE and was responsible for circus, outdoor arts and arts centres including The Roundhouse and Jacksons Lane. Before ACE Clive led The Central Arts Trust, developing a new arts centre for Waltham Forest.
Clive has also been artistic director of The Brewhouse Arts Centre, The Croydon Clocktower, and produced The Portobello Arts Festival in North Kensington. Other roles have included Multi Cultural Events officer for London Borough of Newham, programming and producing The Newham Mela.
He holds an MA from City University in Cultural Leadership and BA (Hons) in Creative and Performing Arts. Clive is also a jazz musician and has worked with, and presented, several leading musicians and artists from the UK and internationally.
Following 17 Years at Arts Council England, Clive left to run Certain Blacks, an organisation dedicated to support new diverse artists and creating new, exciting arts work. They now produce two festivals a year, Ensemble Festival, a free outdoor festival in East London and an indoor festival which will be called Black Athena in March 2026.
About the Black Athena Festival
“Our aim”, says Certain Blacks’ artistic director and founder Clive Lyttle, “has always been to bring diverse creative work ‘from the margins to the mainstream’ and enable artists to develop”. In spring 2026, Certain Blacks launches Black Athena Festival at Rich Mix and The Place. With a programme inspired by themes in Martin Bernal’s radical book Black Athena, published in 1987, the festival reflects on inherited cultural narratives and the importance of recognising difference within contemporary UK society.
Related links
Need to know: The CERTAIN BLACKS BLACK ATHENA FESTIVAL opens on 13 Mar 2026 at Rich Mix London | Visit Afridiziak Theatre News for our full theatre listings
#BlackAthenaFest #CertainBlacks
