Associate lecturer awarded MBE in New Year Honours list

Pawlet Brookes, Associate lecturer at Falmouth University, has been awarded an MBE by Her Majesty The Queen in the New Year Honours for services to the arts and cultural diversity.  

Pawlet has dedicated her career to the development of Black arts in the UK. She has worked as a senior manager and producer at several Black arts centres and has more than 25 years’ experience as a cultural leader in the sector.   

Currently, Pawlet operates as the founder, CEO and artistic director of Serendipity, a diversity-led arts organisation in Leicester. The company holds an annual dance festival in Leicester, Let’s Dance International Frontiers, and also co-ordinates the city’s annual Black History Month events.  

Aside from her work with Serendipity, Pawlet contributes to the teaching on Falmouth’s own BA Creative Events Management, BA Sustainable Festival Management and BA Sustainable Tourism Management.

For myself and Serendipity this honour is a wonderful start to the year

Recently we caught up with Pawlet, who was thrilled to see her work recognised in the New Year Honours list. 

“It came as a surprise, but I am delighted to have received an MBE in the New Year Honours”, Pawlet told us.  

“I am truly humbled and consider this a recognition of the contribution to the fantastic people that I have had the pleasure of working with over the years.    

“So much has been done to amplify diverse voices in arts and heritage. For myself and Serendipity, this honour is a wonderful start to the year as we embark on a range of projects from our annual dance festival, Let’s Dance International Frontiers, and Black Digital Dance Revolution, a national project connecting four cities through technology and development on our archive of Black arts and heritage.”