FESTIVALS FORUM CONSULTANCY REPORT Festivals Forum Consultancy Report January 2004
Introduction At the end of 2003, HI~Arts conducted a consultancy with arts-based festivals across the Highlands and Islands to research whether the establishment of a Festivals Forum could be of benefit to the festivals sector of the region. Questionnaires were sent to 69 festivals identified by local Arts Officers across the region and through HI~Arts’ own contacts database. By the deadline for returns of the questionnaire in December 2003, HI~Arts had received 26 responses representing all ten Local Enterprise Company areas. The research sought to address the following questions: o Should HI~Arts facilitate the establishment of a Festivals Forum for the Highlands and Islands ? o What are the particular challenges faced by Festival organisations in the Highlands and Islands ? o What should the remit of a Festivals Forum be ? o Would a representative from each Festival be prepared to attend a conference event in spring 2004 to discuss the Forum further ? Challenges faced by Festivals The questionnaire sought to discover the main challenges faced by Festivals in the region. There follows some of the key challenges cited by festivals, starting with those challenges mentioned most regularly in responses: Unsurprisingly, perhaps, issues of funding featured most prominently as a challenge to festivals – particularly the uncertainty of not having ongoing funding, the burden of continual fundraising and the lack of access to, and knowledge of, alternative funding sources. Issues of marketing were considered the next most important challenge – mainly in terms of generating coverage at a national/international level, but also in terms of making better use of local networks to promote festival events. The prohibitive cost of promoting individual festivals extensively was cited as a barrier to audience development. The reliance on volunteers to manage and stage festivals was also considered a significant challenge. Volunteer fatigue and burnout was mentioned regularly in questionnaire responses, and a number of festivals felt that a lack of access to core paid staff and skills was holding them back. Recruiting new volunteers in rural areas is always a problem, and many festivals find that the burden of festival delivery falls on the same few people year after year.
FESTIVALS FORUM CONSULTANCY REPORT Linked to this issue are the challenges of administrative support. Few festivals have money to dedicate to a professional administrative post, even as a part-time option, and funding is often refused for paid clerical assistance unless it is written into other project funding. Therefore, there is reliance on good will, and often a lack of access to an appropriate skills base to conduct this work. Infrastructure was a theme listed by most respondents. This included the transport infrastructure, which causes problems – especially for island-based festivals in terms of high costs, frequency and reliability. This is a problem for performers and audiences alike, and adds significantly to the cost of staging events whilst festivals try to keep ticket prices low to compensate for the high transport costs paid by audiences. Likewise, lack of accommodation can be problematic in many areas – for festivals that rely on tourist audiences, the saturation of local accommodation limits further growth in festival attendance. Many festivals are also at the mercy of the fortunes of the local tourist industry, and do not have the time or budget to make an impact on cultural tourism themselves. Infrastructure in terms of suitable venues, facilities and professional equipment available to festivals was also a key concern. A number of festivals also complained of a lack of experienced local authority/agency personnel to assist or advise them. A lack of advocacy was another issue that was raised, and a number of festivals reported that they would like to get their local community to take greater ownership of their festival and participate more. Others were concerned with how to raise the profile of festivals as an economic benefit to their area. One festival pointed out the negative reactions of other ‘year round’ promoters in the arts community to successful festivals, and the need for greater cooperation and coordination of effort. Coordination was a theme adopted by many contributors, who saw the need for greater collaboration that would link festivals more closely with each other, and with year-round programmes of local events. A number of festivals cited sponsorship as a challenge in terms of developing fundraising skills, and had concerns about the lack of potential sponsors locally. In some cases there is also a reticence or embarrassment about asking for sponsorship from small businesses locally, which may tie into the issue of advocacy. Forward planning was mentioned as a challenge by two respondents, in terms of being unable to book acts far enough in advance (sometimes due to funding being allocated at the last minute) and reconciling diaries with artists and performers. Finally, the high cost of essential services was reported to be problematic – especially the unavoidable costs such as insurance cover, security and the costs of ticketing.
FESTIVALS FORUM CONSULTANCY REPORT Potential remit of a Festivals Forum Recipients were asked how they felt the creation of a Festivals Forum, initially facilitated by HI~Arts, could help address the challenges that they faced. In order of importance, these are the main areas upon which respondents thought the Forum should focus: Overwhelmingly, respondents cited marketing as a key area in which a Festivals Forum could benefit them – both at a national and international level. Joint promotional activity was seen as a way to access new sources of funding. A Festivals brochure listing the region’s diverse arts festivals throughout the year was thought to be a good idea by a number of respondents, and a web portal was also mentioned which would, in turn, promote festivals’ own websites. Provision of information was also a key area in which festivals felt the Forum could play a role. In terms of information, it was suggested that a comparative directory of festival service providers could be established, and that updates on legislation (i.e. Health and Safety) could be researched and reported to the Forum. Tip sheets on key issues for festivals, such as drawing up contracts, were also thought to be a good idea. Research into areas of common interest to festivals, such as potential sources of grant aid and sponsorship, and international cross-cultural participation schemes, was also requested. A number of respondents felt that the Forum facilitators should be able to provide central expertise on issues such as marketing, funding sources, venues, festival services, etc. Enhanced networking was also considered to be a primary benefit of a Forum through which experiences, skills, information and good practice could be shared. It was felt that by encouraging dialogue between festivals, there would be less need for festivals to ‘reinvent the wheel’ all the time. It was thought that, collectively, the Forum could also have a voice in national and international fora. Such networking would lead to greater coordination between festivals, which is seen as a positive thing by respondents – whether that is coordination of dates (for example, an anti-clash diary), sharing the costs of bringing artists to perform in the Highlands and Islands with other festivals, or even sharing costs on ambitious collaborative projects. Advocacy is seen as an important role of the Forum in terms of raising awareness of the challenges that festivals face, raising the profile of arts festivals as a sector across the region, and lobbying for funding and administrative support and on issues such as recognition of the contribution of the voluntary sector to festivals. It was felt by a number of respondents that the Forum should have access to practical support, or be serviced by a professional agency. That is, festivals would like to be able to tap into assistance with administration, ticketing, contracts and associated matters. A handful of respondents also said that a key benefit of the Forum would be to negotiate group discounts on policies common to festivals, such as insurance – although this could also be applied to services such as print distribution. Finally, it was thought that a central online portal for festivals could also be used to help recruit volunteers to festivals for stewarding duties at events and the like.
FESTIVALS FORUM CONSULTANCY REPORT Concerns expressed over the formation of a Festivals Forum Whilst the vast majority of respondents were in favour of the formation of a Festivals Forum, a number of concerns were expressed. The concern most expressed was one of ownership of the Forum and the independence of festivals. A number of respondents felt that the forum should not impinge on the individual nature of each festival, or mean any loss of identity or artistic control from festivals themselves. Another concern was potential duplication of effort between the Forum and initiatives such as PAN (Promoters’ Arts Network) or Council festival policy. To this extent, there was a suggestion that the Festivals Forum consider becoming a joint initiative with regional councils. One festival also brought our attention to the North Ayrshire Festival Forum, which assists with location of equipment, insurance quotes and an anti-clash diary for their region. HI~Arts will need to look into this and other schemes to assess where information and resources are already available. A number of festivals feared that a single Forum may not be able to represent the huge diversity of festivals across the region – both in terms of diverse art forms, scale and style of operation (i.e. voluntary or paid posts). It was stressed that the Forum cannot have a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Likewise, there was a fear that the Forum may provide an inequality of service, with some festivals standing to gain more from Forum membership than others. Examples given were that larger or more established festivals may wield more power within the Forum, or that there would be a geographical discrimination favouring festivals in more populated areas. Another concern was that the Festivals Forum projects may be in competition with individual festivals for the limited amount of funding available, which would further jeopardise an already overstretched pot of money. Some respondents worried that there is a danger that the Forum becomes a talking shop and little practical is achieved – that it is all talk and no action. It is important that this is not the case, especially considering that much engagement with the Forum will need to be undertaken at the volunteers’ own expense and in there own time. In this respect, a couple of respondents warned that extra commitment to the Forum from already overworked volunteers is unlikely. This could jeopardise the longer term sustainability of the Forum. Likewise, regular attendance at Forum events would prove problematic for unpaid workers who could not claim expenses to engage with the Forum, especially for island-based festivals. Finally, a couple of respondents asked whether there would be a cost for becoming part of the Forum, as this would deter them from participating.
FESTIVALS FORUM CONSULTANCY REPORT Conference Event The final question in the Forum questionnaire asked respondents if the would be prepared to attend a conference in spring 2004 to help set the priorities for a Festivals Forum. 25 of the 26 respondents reported that they would, in principle, be prepared to attend such a conference. A number of respondents stated that their attendance at the conference would depend on its timing, location and remit. It was suggested that the conference be arranged outside of the school holidays. Some respondents, especially those from island-based and voluntary festivals, suggested that recruiting volunteers to attend a conference event would prove difficult, especially if it involved traveling over more than one day. Conclusion and Next Steps This document is intended as an impartial report on the findings of the Highlands and Islands Festivals Forum consultancy to date, and will be used to inform the planning and development of the Forum. The results of the consultation suggest that there is considerable support for such an initiative, although the exact remit and structure of a Forum, as well as the resources needed to facilitate its development, now need to be clarified. It is clear that engagement in such a Forum will need to have obvious practical benefits, as well as being a networking channel to exchange ideas and skills, if the Forum is to be of value and sustainable. It is also important that the Forum should build upon, rather than duplicate, the work of other groups such as PAN, and this can be a basis upon with the Forum can prioritise its activities. It is proposed that a conference now be organised for spring 2004 where the finding of this document can be explored further, and where a Highlands and Islands Festivals Forum with a clear and agreed remit and structure can be constituted. More information will be available on the HI~Arts website at http://www.hiarts.co.uk/festivals_forum.htm.
MJW January 2004