FESTIVALS: ACCESS ALL AREAS
CONFERENCE FOR FESTIVALS
‘A FESTIVAL CAREER’ 22 October 2014 Christ Church University Canterbury
‘ACCESS ALL AREAS’ 23, 24 October 2014 Augustine House
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FESTIVALS: ACCESS ALL AREAS
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Media Partner: Arts Professional Keeping up to date with important issues and vital information can sometimes feel a bit like trying to fill a cup from a waterfall. Here at Arts Professional we try to make this task just a little easier for you by creating and curating the most relevant content for those with a professional interest in the arts sector. We aim to deliver a quality news and information service that will help you get the most out of your professional practice. We cover news stories that are too specialist for the national newspapers, but are important to those working in the arts We investigate what’s really going on in the sector, holding public bodies to ac count when necessary We keep the sector up to date with changes in areas such as the law and technology, and policies that may affect them We share good practice by giving arts organisations and practitioners a platform to write about their successes and tell others about their experiences We provide a forum in which those with something say can pass comment on key issues or topical subjects We create a space for the sector to promote itself, its jobs, and its activities to other arts professionals. Contact: Liz Hill, Editor E: liz@artsprofessional.co.uk
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Each year the British Arts & Science Festivals Association hosts ‘A Festival Career’ A unique event specifically designed for students and recent graduates interested in a career in festivals
and the ‘Conference for Festivals’ The only conference with something for everyone working in the festival sector
and in 2014 BAFA visits Canterbury Where have we been previously? 2013: Edinburgh 2012: London 2011: Leicester 2010: Brighton 2009: Cheltenham 2008: Liverpool 2007: Buxton 2006: Cardiff Work Smarter:Stay Connected:Mean Business
FESTIVALS: ACCESS ALL AREAS
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FESTIVALS: ACCESS ALL AREAS
2014 CONFERENCE FOR FESTIVALS:
ACCESS ALL AREAS
Augustine House, Christ Church University 22, 23, 24 October 2014 The main two day Conference for Festivals starts on 23 October but traditionally we have a social programme the evening before.
Wednesday 22 October
Book to see a Canterbury Festival show Meet up with other delegates at the Drinks Reception at the conference venue Augustine House Explore Canterbury and ... end the evening with a nightcap at the Conference Pub
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Canterbury Festival has kindly made available discounted tickets to a wide range of events on 22, 23 and 24 October. All of these options are on the conference booking form on the BAFA Website: www.artsfestivals.co.uk and you will need to have selected them in advance including for the Drinks Reception as each has limited places. Please review each event on the festivals own website for more information www.canterburyfestival.co.uk to help you make your selection. 17.30 TALK Precincts John Campbell: Roy Jenkins, A Well-Rounded Life 19.30 TALK Precincts Richard Wiseman: Psycho Babble 18.15 Drinks Reception Augustine Hall prior to James Rhodes 19.00 SHOW Spiegeltent Chaos Cabaret 19.30 Concert Augustine Hall James Rhodes (piano recital) 19.30 GIG Marlowe T Hugh Masekela 21.30 GIG Spiegeltent The Moulettes
£9 £6 FREE £10 £8 £16 £15
Want to find somewhere to eat? Visit the Canterbury Festival website for Big Eat Out details. During the Festival, Canterbury restaurants offer a 2 or 3 course dinner from as little as £10. The Big Eat Out encourages Festival goers to sample restaurants across the city - enjoying a quick meal before or after a festival show or trying somewhere they have never dined before. Or drink? Meet up with other delegates at the designated Conference Pub, usefully located in central Canterbury: The Shakespeare Pub 5 Butchery Lane Canterbury CT1 2JR
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FESTIVALS: ACCESS ALL AREAS
CONFERENCE FOR FESTIVALS: ACCESS ALL AREAS Canterbury 23, 24 October 2014 DAY ONE Thursday 23 October
09.00-09.45: Registration and coffee 09.45-10.00: Welcome from our Conference Host:
Rosie Turner Festival Director Canterbury Festival Canterbury Festival is Kent's International Arts Festival, the largest festival of arts and culture in the region, and one of the most important cultural events in the South East.
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10.00-11.00
‘Festivals & Social Value?’ With an initial focus on Arts Council England’s Cultural Commissioning Programme this debate will explore the strategic use of the arts and cultural sector to provide creative solutions to difficult problems, build independence and strengthen communities. How should the festival sector identify and evaluate its social value and impact? What partnership opportunities are there for: arts & cultural organisations, public service commissioners & managers and policy makers & influencers ? BAFA has been hosting a pre-conference Twitter debate #festivalDNA with the support of Arts Professional and we bring forward the themes from the on-line debate as well as comments from our Canterbury Tales series: The Commissioners Tale Read both on the BAFA Website: www.artsfestivals.co.uk
Leading this debate our panel includes: Janice McGuinness, Commissioned Services, Canterbury City Council As Assistant Director of Commissioned Services, Janice is responsible for services that are delivered by other organisations on the council’s behalf.
Nick Ewbank, Research Report: Cultural Value and Social Capital This report found that despite an intuitive feeling that there is a ‘connection between cultural activity and feeling good’, health and
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11.00-11.30: Facilitated coffee break with live performance Please check the colour code on your name badge and head for the coffee pot with the same colour! Designed to introduce you to new colleagues.
11.30-12.30: Multi-choice breakout sessions A: Access: focus on access for audiences, staff & performers: with Attitude is Everything You may have attended earlier BAFA sessions looking at this issue, here we move the debate on to the next stage covering best practise, forward planning and training opportunities.
B: Access: focus on staffing: Interns/apprenticeships: with The National Apprenticeship Service Do you use volunteers? Have you considered or are already using interns? What do you know of the apprenticeships schemes that are available?
C: Access: forum focus on funding – this is what we do! Round table facilitated session for sharing ideas and best practise A chance to discuss your successful and less successful initiatives, hear your colleagues similar and dissimilar experiences and brainstorm brand new ideas
12.30-1315: Hot buffet lunch
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13.15-13.45
FESTIVAL AWARDS Outstanding Contribution to British Arts & Science Festivals Previous recipients: 2013: Brian McMaster, Edinburgh International Festival 2012: Stewart Collins, Henley & Petworth Festivals 2011: Tania Harrison, Latitude Festival 2010: Richard Phillips, Leamington Music Festival Weekend 2009: Michael and Emily Eavis, Glastonbury Festival 2008: Nick Dodds, Brighton Festival 2007: Judith Serota, Spitalfields Festival
Exceptional Service Award For significant sustained performance characterised by unusual initiative. This is the fourth year of this award and it is designed to recognise the people who work, often in an unheralded capacity, for a BAFA Festival either directly or indirectly. They may be in a paid or unpaid role. They may have only worked with the festival for one season or been its backbone for decades - BUT– they stand out for their exceptional dedication and unstinting effort in everything they do. Past recipients have been: 2013 Angela Aziz, Volunteer Coordinator, Petworth Festival Malcolm Kennedy, Public Safety (Licensing) Officer, City of Edinburgh Council 2012 Peter Williams, Canterbury Festival Robert Stripe, Cambridge Summer Music Festival 2011 Jenny Paddock, Bewdley Festival Stan Knowles, Chester Summer Music Festival
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FESTIVALS: ACCESS ALL AREAS 13.45-14.00 Welcome back to the afternoon programme with:
Lizzie Hodgson Festival Director Digibury Weekender Canterbury’s digital and cultural festival: featuring talks, demos, innovation, debates and discussions – the stuff that makes us go 'wow'. 14.00-15.00 Presentation and discussion:
‘The Cooperative Festival’ Economic advantage or artistic suicide? Is cooperative working the magic key to long-term sustainability? What makes for a successful collaborative project – both artistically and logistically? We examine in detail a range of initiatives both from within the UK and cross border - hearing about the initial ideas, the processes and the outcomes. Contribute your own experiences to this open debate.
Leading this conversation: Roger McCann Director of NFA International Arts and Culture, an organisation that provides services to independent arts organisations and government agencies involved in international cultural operations. and projects featured will include: Home: Margate and Lens Tandem: European Cultural Foundation Pass: Cross Channel Circus
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FESTIVALS: ACCESS ALL AREAS 15.00-15.15 BAFA AGM Hear what BAFA has achieved in the past year and its plans for next.
CULTURAL
15.15-16.00 Coffee and Cultural Speed Dating BRAND NEW for 2014! There’s no other way to describe this – but leading on from the previous panel discussion, if you have a fledgling project and are looking for partners, collaborators - or even just someone to bounce the ideas off - then bring along your idea and BAFA will help you find the right people to talk to. Those with a project to promote to potential partners will be set at small tables around the networking space. Delegates are invited to collect around which ever project they are interested in. The project promoter makes their pitch and answers a few questions. A bell is rung after 6mins and delegates may move to hear from someone else. The project promoters keep repeating their pitch whilst the delegates move around the room collecting in small groups in front of the person they are interested in hearing from.
If you are interested in a ‘promoter’ place please email the BAFA Office: info@artsfestivals.co.uk
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16.00-17.00: Multi-choice breakout sessions D: Access: focus on sponsorship: How commercial is too commercial? With Richard Busby, BDS Sponsorship How does a festival retain its ‘independent’ ethos and effectively manage sponsor relationships and deliver the required benefits.
E: Access: focus on media: How to gain attention and ticket sales via viral campaigns on the Internet Whatever your resources, how can you make the most of the free (and paid) platforms for promotion?
F: Access: focus on research: Hear the latest research papers that focus on the festival sector All manner of organisations are undertaking research that covers the festival sector. When were you last consulted? Watch the BAFA Facebook page for information on the latest studies that purport to speak on your behalf—and could bring benefits! 17.00-17.10
Wrap up in the Foyer
Optional Canterbury Festival event: Please review the Canterbury Festival programme for information and book this event via your conference booking form in order to receive the discounted ticket price. 17.30 TALK Precincts A.N Wilson Victoria – A Life £9
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FESTIVALS: ACCESS ALL AREAS Otherwise you are ‘at leisure’ with time to prepare for the main event of the evening – the Conference Party!
19.00 Meet for pre party drinks at the Conference Pub:
The Shakespeare Pub 5 Butchery Lane Canterbury CT1 2JR Before we move off to the Conference Party for food, drink – but, sorry to say, no dancing like last year - as this glorious venue is the oldest pub in Canterbury and floor won’t stand it ... (but we will have live music)
20.00 Conference Party
The Parrot 1-9 Church Lane Canterbury CT1 2AG
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CONFERENCE FOR FESTIVALS: ACCESS ALL AREAS Canterbury 23, 24 October 2014 DAY TWO Friday 24 October 09.00: Leave Premier Inn for Spiegeltent walk (15mins), bus (part way), car share (possibly)
County Cricket Ground Old Dover Road Canterbury CT1 3NZ
09.15-09.30: Registration and coffee The Canterbury Festival Spiegeltent is set up in the grounds of the Kent County Cricket Ground. This is a less than 15mins walk from the Premier Inn Hotel if you are staying there. There is a bus that would take you half the way there – BAFA will provide details. There is also free parking at the Cricket Ground if you are driving and you may leave your car parked there during the afternoon.
FESTIVALS: ACCESS ALL AREAS
09.30-11.00
Creating an appetite: ‘Means, Motive, Opportunity’ The Spiegeltent was a great success for Canterbury Festival in 2013 and offered a wide range of exciting new events in a truly unique setting for the Festival. It was sited at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence on Old Dover Road and saw nearly 10,000 visitors across the two weeks. The festival says this year: Following the fantastic support of our Festival donors, fundraising events and Friends support, we are delighted to be able to welcome back the Spiegeltent for another year of spectacular cabaret, circus, puppetry, comedy, dance, music and family events. However we still need to raise an additional £60,000 in order to ensure that the tent will remain part of the festival for years to come and to safeguard the Arts Council Catalyst Match Fund. So please continue to show your support, we still need your help! This session will not be a typical panel discussion but quick fire presentations showcasing a broad range of audience development ideas both artistic and logistic which will lead into and inform the second part of the morning—the World Cafe.
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Presentations will include ... Canterbury Festival Background to the Spiegeltent initiative. Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment: The Night Shift is a unique classical night, presenting great music in a relaxed and contemporary setting. All of the events are introduced from the stage by an MC and there’s usually support acts and DJs before and after. Drinks are always welcome, even encouraged, at the events and they have ditched typical classical music rules – audiences are encourage to drink, cough, clap or even boo whenever they like. CultuureNet: CultuureNet Flanders, a Belgian audience development agency, has developed a toolkit to help networks identify their relative strengths and weaknesses, their different audiences and how they can collaborate to create a comprehensive offer for local families. Qualia: Qualia is a ground-breaking digital technology and research project, which aims to revolutionize the way audience experiences at arts and culture events are evaluated. Incorporating mobile phone apps, information pods and online analytical tools Qualia can significantly enhance your audience evaluation techniques and improve engagement. More to follow ....
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11.00-12.30 ‘Barriers’ What barriers prevent people from engaging and having the most enjoyable experience at your festival or event? Is it money or culture? Is there a perceived accessibility or intellectual wall? Our ‘World Cafe’ style discussion will look at these and other key areas. Whatever your role in running your festival, event or festival related organisation, there will be topic that is particularly relevant to you and your views on the other topics are equally valuable! This is a brand new format for BAFA, and the ambition is to bring everyone’s experience to the collective table with a subject that has relevance regardless of your job or the size/nature of your festival, event or festival related business. How does ‘World Cafe’ work? Using the booth arrangement in the Spiegeltent, delegates will be invited to sit in the booths each labelled with an audience development topic for discussion. Discussions are time limited and every 12mins everyone in each booth moves to the next booth leaving one person behind to ‘infect’ the new group of people with ideas already discussed. When this section is complete, the groups go back to their original booth and a facilitated discussion of the conclusions begins.
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FESTIVALS: ACCESS ALL AREAS Are you a Manager? General, Festival, Admin? Is your Organisation ... ... welcoming and inclusive? Do the staff and volunteers represent the community? Can people easily find out about you? Do you seek people’s views to influence what you offer? Are you involved in production? Do you book the venues? Physical How easy is it to reach your site or venue? Is it accessible by public transport and easy to find? Is it easy to move freely around the site and buildings? Are you providing the facilities that everybody needs? Do you have an access policy? Sensory How do you communicate with and provide for people with visual or hearing impairment? How many of their senses are people using to understand and appreciate your heritage? Are you an Artistic Director or Festival Director? Cultural Does what you offer reflect the interests and life experiences of people from a range of cultural backgrounds? Do you make an effort to relate your programme to their interests and concerns? Are you involved with educational work? Intellectual How easy is it for people to understand your programme and its relevance? Do you cater for people with a limited background knowledge, children or people with learning disabilities? Does your role include looking after the finances? Financial Does the cost of admission and/or travelling to your site or event deter some people? Are the tickets and other areas such as catering seen as expensive? Are you seen as providing value for money? Are you responsible for marking and pr? Public profile By what methods can your potential audience hear about your plans? Do you use the latest social media or stick to hard copy? Does Audience Development feature in this decision making process?
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12.30-13.30 Lunch Lunch will be in the cricket pavilion, so the festival can prepare for a lunchtime concert. The afternoon site visits begin with a guided walk back into central Canterbury. This will lead you automatically to the site visit of your choice. After lunch delegates may be able to squeeze in a brief return to the Spiegeltent to hear the final part of the concert (Free – no need to reserve):
13.00-14.00 The Spiegeltent presents music concerts in conjunction with the Festival’s Principal Sponsor: Canterbury Christ Church University. The University’s musical theatre vocal ensemble the Broadway Choir and Friends performs Broadway hits and West End showstoppers.
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Afternoon events: 13.45-14.45 Guided walk from Spiegeltent to central Canterbury See a little more of Canterbury! (You may leave your cars parked at the cricket ground) 14.45-15.45 Visit to the Canterbury Festival Office with Rosie Turner, Festival Director, Canterbury Festival and her Team A chance to quiz the festival staff and see ‘behind the scenes’. 14.45-15.45 Visit to The Beaney with Joanne Jones, Director of Museums & Galleries, Canterbury Museums and Galleries, Canterbury City Council. The Beaney is an Art Museum and Library situated in the heart of the historic city of Canterbury. This fabulous new facility provides state of the art exhibition galleries, a brand new library, excellent learning facilities and a varied programme of events and activities for all ages. As well as the extensive restoration of the existing Beaney, an extension has also been built, doubling the size of the existing facility. The extension has created a brand new library, museum and gallery spaces, as well as community areas and a learning lab. It has also enabled the Beaney’s facilities to become more accessible, with a public lift to all levels and an accessible entrance at Best Lane. 15.45
Farewell for another year with drinks at The Beaney
Later options for delegates remaining in Canterbury: Please review the Canterbury Festival programme for details of these events. These discounted tickets are available only on the Conference booking form. 17.30 TALK Precincts David Starkey: Music and Monarchy £9 19.00 SHOW Spiegeltent Casus: Finding the Silence £12 19.30 THEATRE St Mary’s Bob Kingdom: Dylan Thomas Show £14 19.30 SHOW Marlowe Pirates of the Carabina: Flown £15 21.30 GIG Spiegeltent Tree Top Flyers £15
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