Brendan Barns, who has become the new Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Culture, Heritage, and Libraries Committee, has described his election as “a highlight of my career” and “the culmination of a lifelong love of the arts, culture, and history.”
His new role sees him taking over from Munsur Ali, who chaired the Culture, Heritage, and Libraries Committee for two years.
Brendan was born and grew up in Dorset, graduating from the Government Department of the London School of Economics in 1995, before working in Parliament for Tony Blair. In 1996, he founded SPEAKERS for BUSINESS, which represented a wide range of high-profile speakers.
In 2002, he founded the London Business Forum, which has organised over 1,000 events with world-leading business thinkers, with Brendan interviewing Eric Schmidt of Google, Howard Schultz of Starbucks, and Britain’s most successful Olympian, Sir Chris Hoy. In March 2022, Brendan was elected as a Common Councilman for the City of London ward of Farringdon Within. He also sits on the Finance Committee, Licensing Committee, and City of London Archaeological Trust (CoLAT).
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Brendan supports several institutions and charities, including three scholarships at the City Corporation-owned Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and is a major supporter of Hospice UK, Whizz-Kidz, and The Amber Trust.
Commenting on his election, Brendan Barns said:
“It is a highlight of my career to be elected as Chairman of the Culture, Heritage, and Libraries Committee, essentially, the culmination of a lifelong love of the arts, culture, and history.
“The Square Mile comprises an extraordinary concentration of cultural assets, which makes it an unparalleled destination, offering the ability to include and enrich the lives of everyone who lives in, works in, and visits the City.
“Our cultural offer is a rich patchwork quilt of creative and intellectual works, which explores the human experience and our place in the world and guided by our Cultural Strategy launched in January 2026, we’ll sew that quilt together – safeguarding, maintaining, celebrating, and promoting it for everyone to enjoy.”
As Chairman, Brendan presides over one of the City of London Corporation’s grand committees, responsible for the Square Mile’s governing body’s activities and services in the fields of arts, culture, and heritage, and at the forefront of developing relevant strategies and policies.
The cultural and heritage institutions and attractions overseen by the committee include the City’s public reference and lending libraries, The London Archives, Guildhall Art Gallery and London’s Roman Amphitheatre, City of London Heritage Gallery, Billingsgate Roman House and Baths, The Monument, City Information Centre, and the Harold Samuels art collection at The Mansion House. It also has oversight of Keats House in Hampstead and takes recommendations from the City Arts Initiative, which reviews proposals for art works in the Square Mile’s public realm, including the annual ‘Sculpture in the City.’
The City of London Corporation is one of the largest funders of heritage and cultural activities in the UK and invests over £130m every year. The organisation manages a range of world-class cultural and heritage institutions, including the Barbican Centre, Tower Bridge, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Guildhall Art Gallery, The London Archives, and Keats House. It also supports the London Symphony Orchestra and the new London Museum.
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