Paul McCartneyPhoto credit: Wikimedia Commons
At its 2026 graduation ceremony, LIPA conferred its first LIPA degrees and celebrated more than 400 graduating students from 28 countries. The event, held on 21 July at the Liverpool Experience Campus, also honoured leading figures from film, theatre, music and arts management, with McCartney present as the institute’s Founding Patron. Read more details about it, as per LIPA’s website, here: LIPA was founded by Sir Paul McCartney and Mark Featherstone-Witty and opened in 1996 in the former Liverpool Institute for Boys, the school McCartney once attended. The 2026 ceremony was described by LIPA’s Principal and Chief Executive, Professor Sean McNamara , as a milestone graduation. As the institute marked its 30th anniversary, it also conferred its first LIPA degrees, giving the class of 2026 a place in the institution’s history. More than 400 students graduated, representing 28 countries including Colombia, Georgia, India, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. In 2025, she was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Because she graduated from LIPA’s management degree in 2000 before building a career in Los Angeles, where she has produced more than 25 feature films, including ‘A Star Is Born’, howell Taylor’s honour carried particular significance.
McNamara said the graduates were leaving as artists, innovators and leaders, equipped with the skills, vision and confidence to shape the creative and cultural industries. Thirty years after Sir Paul McCartney helped open the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) in a former Liverpool school, the institution has reached a milestone that blends history with a new beginning. The idea was to create a place where performers and the people who work behind the scenes could train together, reflecting the practical realities of the creative industries. That founding vision remains visible in the institute’s course structure. LIPA offers undergraduate, master’s and foundation certificate programmes in acting, dance, music, musical theatre, filmmaking, theatre production, design, sound technology and creative arts management. The other Companions were BAFTA-winning actor and writer Cathy Tyson; Paul Duhaney, artistic director of Africa Oyé; McFly founding member and Paddington: The Musical composer Tom Fletcher; and film producer Lynette Howell Taylor. The institute’s growth reflects Liverpool’s continuing influence on British and international culture. From its roots in a former school associated with McCartney’s own youth, LIPA has become a training ground for students from around the world, with graduates entering music, theatre, film, television and the wider creative economy.
She said LIPA gave her the foundation for her career and was the first environment in which she felt truly seen for her passion and abilities. Among the recipients was Merseyside-born actor, writer and producer Stephen Graham , known for work including This Is England, Boardwalk Empire, Line of Duty, Boiling Point and Adolescence. Graham has received BAFTA, Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe recognition during a career that has made him one of Britain’s most respected screen actors. For Howell Taylor, the ceremony was a return to the place where her professional journey began. She credited its teachers with encouraging and challenging her to explore what she could achieve.