A very exciting and vibrant discussion chaired by Fenella Kernebone who led the panel of Rachel Healy (Adelaide Festival) and Wesley Enoch (Sydney Festival) and Fergus Linehan (Edinburgh International Festival) and asks why we put on festivals, what they offer artists and communities, and dives into future festival trends both locally and internationally.
To begin with, a bit of background in regards to each of the panellists.
Wesley Enoch has been a theatre director and writer for over 25 years specialising in Aboriginal Theatre and cultural stories. He has been the Artistic Director of companies including Queensland Theatre Company 2010-15, Ilbijerri 2003-06 and Kooemba Jdarra 1994-97, as well as the Festival of Pacific Arts – Australia in 2008 and 2012. Wesley has been appointed the Director of Sydney Festival for the period from 2017 to 2019.
Rachel Healy is the current Co-Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival of Arts for the period 2017 – 2019, in partnership with long time colleague Neil Armfield.
Rachel has over 20 years’ experience across three Australian states, multiple art form genres and national and internationals touring. She was Director, Performing Arts at Sydney Opera House and General Manager at Company B/Belvoir Street Theatre between from the period1997 to 2006.
Fergus Linehan started his theatre directing career in Dublin in 1999, before being appointed director of the Sydney Festival from the period 2004 to 2009. He then joined the Sydney Opera House as the head of contemporary music, where he expanded the Vivid Live festival. He now directs the Edinburgh International Festival.
The first major question was What Are Festivals For? Linehan said it was to give audiences an international perspective. Healy agreed, reminding us that the Adelaide Festival is internationally focused and that Festivals generate employment and expand social outcomes . She also remarked on how the Adelaide Festjval has continued to grow and evolve from its inception.
Enoch also agreed, reminding us of the history of the Sydney Festival and described Festivals as a ‘cultural accelerator’, creating artistic flashpoints.
Enoch talked about how Festivals are important community events and that for most festivals the average person buys on average four tickets, whereas with the Sydney Festival eight tickets on average are purchased.
The discourse then turned to the ‘cultural ritual effect’, as Linehan called it, of certain events held every festival. He said that a case in point was Sydney’s Symphony Under The Stars.
It was then noted about how each Festival city has its own individual style and personality and then there are the different festivals that take place within it.
An issue that then came up was that Festival Artistic Directors are only are in place for a a four year term, and often events, people or companies they may want to programme are frequently unavailable until they are no longer in the position.
As an aside, Enoch mentioned his record for seeing Festival shows is some forty two shows in one very busy ten year period.
Healy brought up the topic of how Festivals look at broadening their base and increasing the experiences that they can provide. This led to a discussion about converting venues and unusual spaces specifically for a Festival.
Linehan spoke about how Festivals aren’t always about defining the new, sometimes it is more to do with refining the balance, defining success and ensuring the Artistic Director’s vision is clear to all.
Before long, questions were asked from the floor which raised further discussion points. Kernebone and Healy agreed how Festivals can be part of the search for meaning in our lives, and that they encourage different perspectives. Mention was made of the recent collapse of various music festivals and how some of them appear to be pricing themselves out of the market.
The final Culture Club talk for the year, held at the Opera House on 6th December, then came to a close.