We’re pleased to introduce the LFA2026 Mentor Programme. The LFA Mentor Programme is there to support those who are new to the Festival, or experienced organisers, to hone and craft an engaging event for all Londoners to take part in this year’s programme.
This year, we have six mentors ready and willing to lend their expertise to event organisers, each with a unique set of skills which can empower event organisers to turn ideas into reality.
The mentors which make up the panel are past event organisers, selected for their expertise across the industry, and their events across the years which have left lasting legacies across our city.
There’ll be a series of mentor sessions in which anyone can attend for free to speak with one of our panel, share any ideas, and develop concepts to form a event proposal for LFA2026. These will take place on:
- 3 December 2025, 2-5pm. Book here and see the remaining slots.
- February 2026, date and time TBC
You can see all the key dates for 2026 here.
Book The December Mentor Session
To give you an idea of how you can benefit from our mentor scheme, and the insight you can glean from our incredible team, we’d like to introduce you to our mentor panel:
Kaia Charles (she/her)
Kaia is a curator and cultural strategist with over a decade of experience delivering cross-disciplinary, socially engaged programmes across galleries, museums, and the public realm.
Kaia can support organisers with: LFA activity that sits at the intersection of art/design/architecture, curation of exhibitions, public realm spaces and events, and activity for diverse audiences.
- Website: kaiacharles.com
Dr Maja Jović (she/her)
Maja is Assistant Head of the School of Architecture + Cities at the University of Westminster, director of Interdisciplinarity and Collaboration and co-founder and co-leader of MA in Architecture and Sustainable Heritage. Her research and practice span architecture, heritage, tourism, and critical urban studies, with a focus on post-conflict cities, metropolitan transformation, diasporic communities, and heritage safeguarding, alongside international advisory, curatorial, and editorial work.
Organisers can speak with Maja about: translating existing work to new audiences – particularly students and researchers – event types such as workshops, exhibitions, symposiums and data gathering sessions and managing multiple stakeholders to deliver meaningful activity.
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/majajovicuk/
Andre Kong (he/him)
Andre is a London-based architect and designer, and the founder of andre kong studio – an emerging, award-winning practice imagining narrative-driven projects grounded in the principles of the circular economy. A passionate advocate for diversifying the built environment, Andre has mentored aspiring architects through PoC in Architecture, Freehold LGBT, and Accelerate, and is excited to join the LFA2025 mentors’ team.
Organisers can speak with Andre about: turning design ideas into real projects, including queries on fabrication, materials, reuse, working with local communities and conveying the project to different audiences.
- Website: www.andrekong.com
Luísa Pereira Pires (she/her)
Luisa is an intersectional neurodivergent founder, educator, interdisciplinary digital fabrication and computational designer and a part 2 architectural assistant. She has helped coordinate multiple projects and events surrounding Neurodiversity in Architecture through NAN – Neurodiversity Architecture Network.
Corinne Wint (she/her)
Corinne is Senior Programme Coordinator at Zaha Hadid Architects, leading on event and outreach programming. She has been involved in LFA initiatives for a number of years and her experience includes social impact, educational workshops and community engagement.
Organisers can speak with Corinne about: general LFA involvement, event practicalities including planners/scheduling, risk assessments, ticketing guidelines, creating engaging studio lates, event types such as talks, building tours, performances, workshops and LFA activity for children and young people.
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- LinkedIn: Corinne Wint
Wilson Yau (he/him)
Wilson is a London-based artist and educator, with two decades of experience in teaching with a focus on architecture. He is the Learning Officer at the Zaha Hadid Foundation, delivering educational and community projects, and a public events programme.
Organisers can speak with Wilson about: LFA activity for young people and families, event types such as workshops, talks and exhibitions or hosting LFA activity in your cultural space.
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- Website: https://www.zhfoundation.com
We’re delighted that this incredible group of individuals will be working with LFA over the coming months, and hope our community use this opportunity to learn from their expertise to create an inclusive event for all.
