Festival Connections

PROJECT

INFORMATION

OVERVIEW

Through its work in the cultural sector, British Council supports arts initiatives in the UK and India bi-laterally and seeks to encourage cross-cultural knowledge exchange and conversation. As part of the organisation's arts strategy of 2018 - 2022, one of the key focus areas that has emerged for their work in the country, is the cultural festivals sector. Festival Connections is an annual programme of expertise, knowledge, and networking between India and the UK

BRIEF

Festival Connections was initiated with an aim to fill a gap in the space of knowledge sharing and learning about the management and administration of cultural festivals in India. The brief was to develop a ‘creative hub’ of sorts for the festivals and festival managers to engage in high-quality conversations, discussion, and dialogue about their festivals and operational concerns.

APPROACH SUGGESTED

In 2019, the series was conceptualised as live sessions across four cities in India – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Bengaluru – that brought together presenters from each region. In March 2020, the series was one of the first cultural sessions that pivoted to digital platforms. The Art X Company's programming approach was aimed at curating sessions that offer deep insight into aspects of festival management, while being relevant to the changing scenario that the COVID-19 pandemic presented.

Year: 2019-20
Website

OUTCOME

Festival Connections sessions each followed a strong theme relating to one aspect of cultural festivals. The sessions took varied forms, from presentations, to panel discussions, and roundtables. In the 2019 leg, topics covered included Audience Development Insights for the Arts, Diversity and Inclusion in Indian Art Festivals, Leadership and Governance, while the 2020 leg included Financial Health Management, Gig Workers and COVID-19, Fundraising for Festivals, Digital Formats and New Business Models, and Health and Safety for Future Festivals. With over 15 sessions till date featuring 20+ festivals, a community of over 1500 festival managers, directors and cultural workers has been meeting and engaging with each other across online and offline spaces

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