EFA at the first Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo
The European Festivals Association (EFA) was present at the first edition of the Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo (HKPAX), the new platform where international performing arts professionals from China including Hong Kong and around the globe meet, interact and inspire each other.
EFA Members have been invited to several sessions to share with the participants their knowledge and expertise when it comes to the role of arts festivals and what makes them unique in the artistic and cultural sector.
Jan Briers, President of EFA, has highlighted in his speech the openness from Europe towards Asia: “The West can learn so much from the East”.
He also mentioned that EFA works hard to improve the collaboration between festivals and their cities. Festivals make cities attractive destinations and are the perfect platform to reunite different communities. Festivals bring the arts to the people, and not just people to the arts. In smaller villages, churches (losing their function as a religious home) are used as concert venues and becoming meeting spaces for local communities.
In several European countries, government support is decreasing, and corporate sponsorship becomes more and more challenging. Festivals focusing on environmental sustainability are better rewarded by governments and more attractive for corporates. Festivals should try to be ahead and develop environmentally friendly practices that are aligned with their activities.
Two EFA Members from the UK and another from Finland also took the floor.
John McGrath, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Factory International, explained that the Manchester International Festival (MIF) has now its own venue, the Aviva Studios. Next to the festival, Factory International is now responsible for this creative space the whole year around. The festival focuses on new creations by commissioning artists and likes to take the artists on a journey towards unique productions. Factory International adds existing shows to its annual programme and builds strong relationships with Manchester's communities by even creating sports events, for example a skateboard track around the building, sponsored by Adidas. Factory International has many corporate sponsors who have invested in the building as well as sponsors that structurally support the operations. This has a commercial aspect but brings new people into the building.
Roy Luxford, Creative Director of the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), started his presentation by saying: “Festivals are a celebration of the human spirit”. EIF doesn’t have its own presentation venue but uses different venues and public spaces throughout the city. The programme is curated by the artistic team of the festival. 50% of the programme is dedicated to music, 50% to all other artistic disciplines. EIF invites many Scottish artists on top of the international ones. EIF has a very international public: 30% local from Edinburgh, 70% from outside.
Financial sustainability is one of the main challenges of the festival. The fact that so many festivals, such as the Edinburgh Fringe, run in parallel means that audiences are flooding in, which is a real challenge for the city. Striking a balance between local audiences (year-round) and place-making (as a tourist destination) is no easy task.
Kai Amberla, Director of Finland Festivals, one of EFA’s collective members, invited Vigdís Jakobsdóttir, the outgoing director of the Reykjavik Arts Festival to speak together with him. They addressed the well-functioning of the cultural sector today in the Nordic countries. Differences between the Nordic countries are small and traditions are similar, except for Greenland which has an Inuit culture. Festivals are a very flexible format and can therefore easily respond to social changes and get closer to communities.
The Nordic countries are becoming more international, e.g. today, 20% of Helsinki's population is of foreign origin. Education is free and arts education very cheap and there is a strong tradition of music schools.
Iceland, with its small population (44,000 inhabitants) and geographical isolation, has a number of special features that enable great talent to gain international recognition. The Reykjavik Arts Festival has a strong focus on inclusion and disability.
By Gert Naessens