2017 Conference for Festivals, Bath, 15-16 November

2017 Conference for Festivals 12nooN Wednesday 15 to 15.30 Thursday 16 November 2017 Bath With host festival: Bath Festivals, supported by Jane Austen Festival Two days of positive, productive, practical and profitable discussion

WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 Komedia, 22-23 Westgate Street, Bath, BA1 1EP Each programme item below is accompanied by links to relevant background reading which we hope you will find interesting. In the count down to the Conference, more links, articles and stories will be posted on the BAFA Facebook page—follow us here to keep informed—along with polls and other interactive activities, building our conference community until we meet face to face in Bath.

Two days of positive, productive, practical and profitable discussion. @BritArtsFests #2017BAFA DAY ONE 12.00-12.45 Registration and coffee Lunch will be served from 12.15 12.45-13.45 Session One: Festival Question Time ‘Technically, the glass is always full’ Responding to delegates questions, our festival panel will reflect, in context, on whether it’s possible to ‘accentuate the positive’ in these challenging times. Read the Guardian article on positivity in the arts. How far does this approach get us? Home is where the art is—including BAFA’s new home The Albany in Deptford, South London.

13.45-14.00 Session Two: Welcome to Bath with our Conference Host: Bath Festivals Read a review of this years festival—the first as the new flagship multi-arts festival.

14.00-14.30 Facilitated networking with refreshments 14.30-15.30 Session Three: Open Space. Building on the success of last years more intimate break out sessions in round table format, all seeded with an expert/topic, except one that remained truly Open Space, this year the table topics will focus on organisational issues , both personal and professional, including: pensions, maternity cover, succession planning and recruitment, legal advice, governance, stress, critical person and terrorism insurance, career development and mentoring. Share your experiences, solve your problems—take away the latest, most practical information.

WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 Komedia, 22-23 Westgate Street, Bath, BA1 1EP 15.30-16.30 Session FOUR: CHALLENGE AND INNOVATION Know your audience: ‘The real consideration for ourselves is still this notion of audience expectation and treading a balance between challenge and innovation: not pushing an audience too far, but just enough to feel that it’s a new experience.’ Stretching yet familiar? How easy is it to leave an audience behind—to not push them too far, as described in the article above. Is your audience regenerating itself? Does art at music festivals really make people think? And not forgetting Sherlock … Aiming to take a new angle on this perennial topic — add your own thoughts to our debate led by our panel which will include artists and cultural commentators.

16.30-16.45 Short refreshment break 16.45-17.15 BAFA Awards—who will receive the BAFA honours this year? Read who has been recognised in previous years here.

17.15-18.15 Session Five: CULTURE AND HEALTH What is the potential for arts and culture to contribute to creating a healthy society? The Arts Council has announced Sector Support Organisation Status for a new Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance (CHWA). The CHWA will combine the complementary strengths of the two sectors and will have a strong emphasis on the potential of national strategic developments that can be activated by strong regional and local place based working. Read the full press release here. Our panel of health, creative and festival professionals will lead our examination on where festivals, as the ultimate in place based activity, fit into and can take advantage of, this fast emerging cross sector partnership. Can art make us feel better?

18.15-18.30 Conference Day One wrap up 18.30-19.30 Free time 19.30-20.00 How well do you know Bath? Join the traditional BAFA Conference Walk to discover a different side …

EUROPE FOR FESTIVALS, FESTIVALS FOR EUROPE: LAUREATE FESTIVALS BAFA is the UK Hub for the Festivals for Europe, Europe for Festivals, read more about this Europe wide project here.

The 26 EFFE Laureate Festivals:

Gdansk Shakespeare Festival, Poland

12 Points, Ireland

Gender Bender, Italy

Africtions - captured by Dance, Germany

GOGOLFEST - International Annual Multidisciplinary International Festival of Contemporary Art, Ukraine

Altofest International Contemporary Live Arts, Italy ASALTO Zaragoza , Spain Athens Digital Arts Festival , Greece Bábkarská Bystrica TOUR - Double impulse, Slovakia Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival, Cyprus Edinburgh Festival Fringe, UK Edinburgh International Festival, UK

International Theatre Festival - Varna Summer, Bulgaria Les Eurockéennes de Belfort, France Mittelfest, Italy Ravenna festival, Italy Tallinn Architecture Biennale , Estonia

Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre, Georgia

European Film Festival Palic, Serbia

TANEC PRAHA - The International Festival of Contemporary Dance and Movement Theatre, Czech Republic

Festival of Five Churches, Hungary

Theaterfestival Boulevard 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Festival of Wonder, Denmark

Utrecht Early Music Festival, Netherlands

FMM Sines - Festival Músicas do Mundo, Portugal

Walk&Talk Azores, Portugal

THURSDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2017 Komedia, 22-23 Westgate Street, Bath, BA1 1EP DAY TWO 09.00-09.15 Registration and more coffee…

09.15-09.30 Welcome from supporting festival host, the Jane Austen Festival 09.30-10.30 Session Six: CHEQUES AND BALANCES Serious topic alert! Designed to look in depth at the latest trends and methods of fundraising, our panel of expert fundraisers technologists and festivals will explore the changes in this landscape that was once seeded with only Local Authorities, Arts Councils, Trusts and Foundations. The Birmingham Cultural Investment Enquiry identified 50 new approaches—more than enough to start this conversation.

Look out for our fundraising poll on Facebook shortly and read the Birmingham report here in Arts Professional.

10.30-11.00 Facilitated networking and refreshments 11.00-12.00 Session Seven: Open Space. Our second set of round tables will focus on artistic, sustainability and strategic issues, including co-commissioning, programming, creative partnerships, strategic thinking (who are your unlikely competitors?), research, evaluation and …

Europe! A New Direction makes interesting reading.

12.00-13.00 Lunch 13.00-14.00 Session Eight: INSPIRATION AND POTENTIAL ‘Placemaking capitalizes on a local communities assets, inspiration and potential.’ Do communities need festivity? When do festivals stop being grass roots? Forming a crucial part of the health and wellbeing agenda, what emphasis does your festival place on its roots—and do you think your audience care? Our panel of festivals and place-makers will tease out your experience, and your expertise, and together we look into that popular ‘cultural crystal ball’ for inspiration for the future. Bristol's Cultural Destinations project is worth reading.

THURSDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2017 Komedia, 22-23 Westgate Street, Bath, BA1 1EP 14.00-14.15 Brief refreshment break 14.15-15.15 Session Nine: CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE The classic ending to a BAFA Conference—The BAFA Interview. Reflecting back on much of our discussion these past two days, this will inevitably have a local focus—but we’ll keep you guessing as to who it will be!

15.15-15.30 Conference Day Two wrap up—and Goodbye to Bath!

Case Studies Over the two days we will hear case studies from Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe labelled festivals. BAFA is the UK Hub for this European Parliament funded project now in its second iteration. Read all about the project here and the six remarkable festivals who were received the 2017 EFFE Award, including from the UK, Edinburgh International Festival, also celebrating its 70th birthday.

Live Performance Taking full advantage of the range of spaces in our venue, Komedia, throughout both conference days, BAFA will be presenting short live performance interludes to break up all the talking …

Accommodation, Travel, Parking, Conference Venue Detailed information on all these subjects and more is available on the BAFA website, but in brief: Designated Conference Hotel: Premier Inn, Bath City Centre , 4 James Street West, Bath, BA1 2BX Current rates: £55.50 per person, per night, excluding breakfast. Book here (no special BAFA deal available at this low price): Conference Venue: Komedia, 22-23 Westgate Street, Bath, BA1 1EP

Two days of positive, productive, practical and profitable discussion