Originally from Barcelona, Laia is a local activist, cultural agitator and anthropologist.

She is currently policy advisor for Munira Mirza, Deputy Mayor for Education and Culture at the Mayor of London’s Office where she champions culture as a vital ingredient to make the capital a better city for all. Laia is a believer in allowing informal culture to flourish as well as creating a healthy landscape for cultural institutions and individual artists.  Previously, she led major national and international high-profile projects including award winning Blast for the BBC, and a number of innovative projects for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the London International Festival of Theatre, Tate Modern and Southbank Centre.

She suggested that Local Authorities will be focusing on jobs and growth and that there may not be arts and culture teams in local authorities in five years time. In this context, she asked, ‘is it the case that, for arts and culture, we are losing the argument?’

She is active in Hackney, where she lives since 1996 founding the first parent-run nursery in the borough, setting up a street market, volunteering for the local night shelter and currently Chair of Trustees at Chats Palace Arts Centre.