OVERVIEW
Held for the first time in Asia, the Atelier for Young Festival Managers programme brought 34 festival managers from all over the world to Singapore during the Singapore Arts Festival. Through presentations, group discussions and workshops, the programme fostered an exchange of knowledge and experience and encouraged a reflection on the role of festivals in today’s societies within the framework of international cultural co-operation.
Guided by a quote by Bernard Faivre d’Arcier, former long-standing Artistic Director of the Avignon Festival, “Car le vrai rôle d’un festival est d’aider les artistes à oser, à entreprendre des projets…” (The true role of a festival is to help artists to dare, to engage in new projects), the Atelier inspired participants to develop exciting new ideas under the professional guidance of renowned festival managers. These include:
- Rose Fenton (Co-founder of London International Theatre Festival);
- Goh Ching Lee (former Director of Singapore International Arts Festival and founder of the Association of Asian Performing Arts Festivals);
- Hugo De Greef (General Manager, Bruges European Capital of Culture 2002); and
- Nele Hertling (Vice-Chair of the Academy of Arts Berlin).
The Atelier included presentations, group discussions and intensive workshops where participants examined topics relating to creating a festival vision and programme. Seven renowned festival directors also shared their experiences during the guest lectures. Participants for the programme were selected by a panel of experts in February 2011. ASEF supported 17 participants from Asia and Europe.
As part of this event, a public talk was held on Friday 20 May 2011 on the topic “Serving Artists Serves the Public“. It was held at LASALLE College of the Arts and included keynote lecture by Robyn Archer, Director of Light in Winter festival, Australia. The public talk and panel discussion gave the audience of over 200 people an opportunity to hear from international cultural leaders. You can see photos from this event here .
ASEF’s contribution to this programme is with the generous support of Dr Haruhisa Handa (IFAC Chairman).
