COMM’ON collaborated with Cultópia for the facilitation of “Impactful Festival in Practice", a four day practitioners lab that aimed to explore new tools and practices that enhance the impact of festivals in (each) local context, taking the lively festival scene of Attica as an inspirational and knowledge canvas.
Thematic focus:
Festivals actively contribute to the cultural life of a region. Whether small or big, local or international, festivals create a temporary space for co-existence/common experience, exchange and the cultivation of new ideas and perspectives. Such events have a transforming potential in many ways. Festivals are a great medium for community building, local economy boosting, they contribute to the city’s authentic character and due to their intense program can create an impactful buzz around a topic.
Looking at festivals’ potential and growth, questions of sustainability arise, in accordance to the ongoing debate on the sustain- ability of the cultural sector.
In this context, we wonder:
What are the recipes for an impactful festival? Can we examine sustainability in a holistic way and exchange practices that contribute to social integration, economic stability, environmental awareness and cultural develop-ment?
15 participants from 9 countries
10 workshops & field visits
4 days
3 case studies of active festivals in Attica
Case studies based on theme, structure and impact: a. Synoikismos Festival / Eleusis 2021 (Eleusina) | Kelly Diapoulis, (Art Director of Eleusis 2021 Capital of Culture) b. Arc For Dance Festival (Athens) | Frosso Trusa (Art Director) c. Lipasmata Festival by the Sea (Drapetsona, Piraeus) | Stavroula Syrakou (Vice Mayor of Culture for the Municipality of Keratsini-Drapetsona)
The Practicioners Lab "Impactful Festival in Practice" was designed and implemented by Cultópia with the support of International Alumni Center (IAC Berlin) and it was addressed to members of the Bosch Alumni Network. The workshop was co-facilitated by COMM’ON.
"Impactful Festival in Practice" took place in Athens during July 2019 and consisted of knowledge exchange workshops, field trips in Athens, Eleusina and Epidaurus and thematic talks from representatives of active festivals in the region of Attica.
The aim of the lab was to reconsider the four pillars of sustainability (cultural - social - economical - environmental) and co-create sustainable festival practices through cultural management strategies.
Specific goals: _Co-create a sustainable framework for festivals. _Learn strategies and approaches that are applicable for festival formats and integrate factors of social-economic-cultural-environmental sustainability. _Generate a guide of sustainable practices. _Combine study visits/theory, case-study workshops and prototyping sessions. _Create meaningful connections between the Lab’s participants. _Introduce participants to the festival scene of Athens and its peripheral regions.
When: 04-07.07.2019