Adem Holness, is the head of contemporary music at the Southbank Centre in London.

Having been responsible for arts and cultural organisations, talent development programmes, live music festivals, tours and gigs, Adem specialises in enabling the ambitions of music artists & creatives from diverse backgrounds to realise ambitious contemporary music programmes.

As head of contemporary music, Adem is responsible for delivering 150+ gigs and concerts a year across the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell Room as well as the iconic Meltdown Festival.

As music curator at the Horniman Museum & Gardens, Adem led the award-winning 696 Programme & Festival celebrating Black British Music & the sounds of South London.

Adem is a fellow of Clore Leadership, the Royal Society of Arts, and PRS Foundation’s Power Up scheme, an award-winning initiative supporting Black music creators and industry professionals to address anti-Black racism and racial disparities in the music sector.