LJUBLJANA 2012

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Car le vrai rôle d'un festival est d'aider les artistes à oser, à entreprendre des projets...

Bernard Faivre d'Arcier, former Director of Festival d’Avignon
and President of the Lyon Biennial, France

5th Atelier for Young Festival Managers LJUBLJANA 2012: intense exclusive training and high-level public events

The Atelier for Young Festival Managers LJUBLJANA 2012 – initiated by the European Festivals Association (EFA) and hosted by the Ljubljana Festival – took place from 14 to 21 October 2012. It followed its core mission to offer to 32 emerging artistic festival directors from 21 countries an exclusive training schedule, thoroughly developed in cooperation with eight experienced festival managers from all over the world. Public events included the official opening ceremony with a keynote speech by internationally renowned Australian festival director Robyn Archer, a press conference with focus on the Atelier, a new EFA publication as well as EFA’s and Ljubljana Festival’s Diamond Jubilees, and a closing session with the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Danilo Türk, and festival icon Gerard Mortier.

I came here to engage, exchange, share, learn and grow, and so I did. This has been one of the most positively intensive experiences of my life - creatively, intellectually and personally.

Sean Buhagiar, Malta Council for Culture and the Arts,
Participant Atelier LJUBLJANA 2012

The Atelier online

• Atelier facebook page
  
• EFA on Twitter and #AtelierLJUBLJANA
• EFA news: daily news reporting back from the Atelier
• Atelier Photo Gallery
  

Presenters

Leading and experienced festival operators, professionals and artists gave lectures, led workshops and took part in round tables and debates – all of them spent several days with the participants of the Atelier for face-to-face contacts and discussions. At the Atelier LJUBLJANA 2012, participants met:

• Robyn Archer (Creative Director The Centenary of Canberra (2013), Artistic Director The Light In Winter Melbourne; Australia)
• Hugo De Greef (initiator of festivals, General Manager Bruges European Capital of Culture 2002; Belgium)
• Bernard Faivre d’Arcier (former long-standing Artistic Director Avignon Festival, President Lyon Biennial; France)
• Nele Hertling (Vice-Chair Academy of Arts Berlin; Germany)
• Michal Merczynski (Director Malta Festival Poznan; Poland)
• Gerard Mortier (General Director Teatro Real de Madrid, former Director Salzburger Festpiele, former Director Ruhr Triennale; Belgium)
• Fruzsina Szép (Programme Director Sziget Festival, Budapest; Hungary)

Programme

• Sunday, 14 October, 19:00, Ljubljana Castle: Opening Ceremony with Zoran Janković, Mayor City of Ljubljana; Darko Brlek, EFA President, Artistic and General Director Ljubljana Festival; James Hampson, Director British Council Slovenia; and Graham Sheffield, former Artistic Director Barbican London, Director Arts British Council London. Robyn Archer delivered the keynote speech.
• Thursday, 18 October, 13:30, Križanke (Knight’s Hall): Press Conference and launch EFA BOOKS 5 “Inside/Insight Festivals. 9 Festival Directors – 9 Stories” with Darko Brlek, Kathrin Deventer, Hugo De Greef, and Nele Hertling.
• Saturday, 20 October, 18:00, City Hall: Closing Ceremony: with President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Danilo Türk; Gerard Mortier; General Director Teatro Real de Madrid; Darko Brlek, EFA President, Artistic and General Director Ljubljana Festival; Kathrin Deventer, EFA Secretary General; and General Atelier Coordinator Hugo De Greef; participants received their certificates.
• 7-Day Schedule of the Atelier LJUBLJANA 2012

The City - The Host

The Atelier for Young Festival Managers in Ljubljana is initiated by the European Festivals Association and co-organised by the Ljubljana Festival, one of the most important festivals in the region. Since 60 years, the festival has hosted numerous internationally recognised artists. The Ljubljana Festival has been a member of EFA since 1977. Ljubljana is famous for its unique character: it has preserved its historical heritage and tradition while being a modern and relatively young city – the residents' average age is only slightly above 30. Ljubljana boasts one of the world's oldest philharmonic societies. Each year it hosts over 10,000 cultural events, from prestigious musical, theatre and art events to alternative and avant-garde events, notably including 14 international festivals.

I am glad to welcome this outstanding group of two generations of festival making to Ljubljana in 2012. The two Diamond Jubilees – of both EFA and the Ljubljana Festival – and Ljubljana’s rich cultural scene, which we will explore, are the perfect backdrop for this exceptional training programme.

Darko Brlek, EFA President and Artistic and General Director Ljubljana Festival

Theme

As in the four previous editions of the Atelier in Görlitz (Germany) in 2006, in Varna (Bulgaria) in 2009, in Singapore and Izmir (Turkey) in 2011, the motto of the Atelier is: “The true role of a festival is to help artists to dare, to engage in new projects”. Particular emphasis is placed on the artistic aspects of festival management, including artistic vision, political and social responsibility, internationalisation, networking, renewal and sustainability.

Participants

32 young festival managers from 21 countries attended the Atelier LJBULJANA 2012: coming from Australia, Belgium, Brasil, Egypt, Estonia, France, Georgia, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Palestine, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, UK, United Arab Emirates, and USA, the participants developed a unique international network thanks to the Atelier.

Organisers and partners

Initiator of the Atelier

European Festivals Association (EFA) - www.efa-aef.eu

Host and Co-organiser

Ljubljana Festival - www.ljubljanafestival.si

Partners

City of Ljubljana (Founder of the Ljubljana Festival): www.ljubljana.si

Ljubljana Castle: www.ljubljanskigrad.si

Institut Français Ljubljana: www.institutfrance.si

   British Council: www.britishcouncil.org

   Goethe-Institut: www.goethe.de

   EUNIC Slovenia: www.eunic-online.eu/slovenia

  Embassy of France in Slovenia: www.ambafrance-si.org

The Belgian Embassy in Ljubljana kindly supports the Closing Ceremony of the Atelier LJUBLJANA 2012 on 20 October 2012.

News and press releases

• Atelier for Young Festival Managers LJUBLJANA 2012 great success (press release, 30 October 2012; PDF)
• Atelier News #7: "Once an Atelier, always an Atelier" (news, 21 October 2012)
• Atelier News #6: in-depth discussions of the essentials of the previous days (news, 20 October 2012)
• Atelier LJUBLJANA 2012 to close with high-level ceremony on 20 October (news, 19 October 2012)
• Atelier News #5: Cultural visits, press conference, book launch, boat trip and more (news, 19 October 2012)
• Atelier News #4: "Mutual inspiration in an ideas arena" (news, 18 October 2012)
• "Inside/Insight Festivals": EFA BOOKS 5 launched at Atelier LJUBLJANA (press release, 18 October 2012; PDF)
• Atelier News #3: “Bouncing ideas and streams of creations” (news, 17 October 2012)
• Atelier News #2: Festivals in unusual contexts – a lot of food for thought (news, 16 October 2012)
• Atelier News #1: “Welcome, fools, to our world” (news, 15 October 2012)
• Robyn Archer opens Atelier LJUBLJANA 2012: “We are all participants“ (news, 15 October 2012)
• Atelier for Young Festival Managers LJUBLJANA 2011 starts today: Follow online! (news, 14 October 2012)
• Public invited to opening of Atelier LJUBLJANA 2012 with Robyn Archer (news, 12 October 2012)
• 5th Atelier for Young Festival Managers LJUBLJANA 2012: intense exclusive training and high-level public events (press release; 9 October 2012; PDF)
• Atelier for Young Festival Managers LJUBLJANA 2012 (press release; 11 September 2012; PDF)
• Atelier LJUBLJANA 2012: great response after first Alumni meeting, deadline extended (news; 5 June 2012)
• Atelier for Young Festival Managers: deadline approaching, new presenters announced (news; 14 May 2012)
• Atelier for Young Festival Managers in Ljubljana: Call for Application launched (press release; 14 March 2012; PDF)

Speeches

• Robyn Archer (Keynote Opening Ceremony, 14 October 2012)
• Kathrin Deventer (Speech Opening Ceremony, 14 October 2012)

Interested in the Atelier?

If you are interested in the Atelier and future editions, please keep an eye on the Atelier website www.atelierforyoungfestivalmanagers.eu or contact atelier@efa-aef.eu.

Back to general information about the Atelier for Young Festival Managers and its previous editions!