NEW York multimedia artist Laurie Anderson will helm Brighton Festival’s half-century celebrations this year.

The festival, which runs from Saturday, May 7, to Sunday, May 29, will celebrate the city and explore the nature of home.

Also announced today are world premieres and commissions, including recreations of 75 Shakespearean deaths, an exploration of the Falklands War by Argentinian writer Lola Arias and a new work by Brighton-based theatre-maker Neil Bartlett.

The pioneering Anderson, who was appointed NASA’s first artist in residence in 2002, is no stranger to Brighton Festival. She brought her show Delusion to the 2011 festival and was the special guest of 2015 guest artistic director Ali Smith with the specially commissioned All The Animals which explored real and fictional stories of fauna from throughout her career.

Introducing her Ms Smith described Ms Anderson as: “The performance artist, singer, musician, artist of our lifetime I think – a great, great figure of liberty and liberation of the arts.”

Ms Anderson is best-known in the UK for her epic electronic 1981 number two hit O Superman, which combined affected vocals with cutting edge synthesiser and loop technology.

She has since recorded a string of albums, penned six books, and hosted her own multimedia performances ranging from a recreation of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick to an orchestral work inspired by American aviator Amelia Earhart.

In 1997 she curated the two-week Meltdown Festival at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

And last year she took her latest film The Heart Of A Dog, inspired by the deaths of her mother, beloved dog and long-term partner Lou Reed, to the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.

She said: “I’m so happy to be serving as guest director of Brighton Festival in its historic 50th year.

“Our theme of home and place is especially relevant with so many people in the world on the move now looking, like all of us, for a place we can belong. I’ve been part of the festival several times and it was exciting to watch the city become the heart of so much art. I’m looking forward to being part of it this year.”

Andrew Comben, chief executive of Brighton Festival, added: “In our 50th year it feels right to reflect on the original intentions of the festival which from the start were about celebrating international culture, the new and the avant garde. Laurie Anderson has been experimenting, creating and challenging audiences all over the world for almost as long as Brighton Festival has existed.”

The full Brighton Festival programme will be revealed on Wednesday, February 17.