The Festival Academy, an initiative of the European Festivals Association (EFA), is calling for applications for the Atelier for Young Festival Managers to take place from 2 to 8 June 2016 in Budapest, Hungary, in collaboration with the Armel Opera Festival. Ten renowned festival directors will guide 45 participants through the 7-day training programme. Young festival managers from all over the world are invited to apply until 8 November 2015.

“One of the primary roles of Armel Opera Festival is to create the possibility for different cultures to meet and present themselves through lyric international productions. This is an ideal background to host the Atelier and to welcome young festival managers worldwide to experience the cultural scene of Hungary and to exchange on the essence of festivals,” says Agnes Havas, Director Armel Opera Festival.

Share your experiences on the essence of art festivals

The Atelier for Young Festival Managers is an intense 7-day training programme addressed at emerging artistic festival directors or those who have ambitions to get involved in programming or in related departments within a festival. It is about sharing experiences and passing on knowledge to the next generation of festival makers: knowledge about programming a festival, while focusing on the very essence of art festivals – the arts and the artist.

“The true role of a festival is to help artists to dare, to engage in new projects,” is the motto of the Atelier, coined by Bernard Faivre d’Arcier, longstanding Director of the Avignon Festival, President of the Lyon Biennial (France).

Explore festival issues in various formats

45 young festival managers from all over the world will be selected to participate in the Atelier. Around 10 distinguished festival directors, will each attend for at least two full days and work together with participants throughout the 7 days. In lectures, one-on-one talks, group discussions as well as intense workshops on case studies, issues such as artistic vision, public responsibility, creation and coproduction, internationalisation, networking, renewal and sustainability will be explored. Have a look at the list of presenters of the previous Ateliers.

“The Atelier was an extremely valuable professional and life experience for skills development, capacity- and confidence building, plus it gifted me with bounds of renewed inspiration and a wonderful new network of colleagues and friends,” said Michelle O’Brien, arts manager and creative producer, Participant Atelier POZNAN 2014.

Join a unique new network

The Atelier counts 300+ alumni from 60+ countries after eight Ateliers for Young Festival Managers since 2006 in Goerlitz, Varna, Singapore, Izmir, Ljubljana, Edinburgh, Poznan and Beirut. Participants of the Budapest edition will become part of this unique global network of young festival makers which will grow further after the upcoming Atelier Gwangju 2015.

Programme details

• Dates, place: 2-8 June 2016, Budapest, Hungary
• Application deadline: 8 November 2015
• Procedure: Submit the Application Form; for selection criteria, application/selection procedure, course fee etc. check the Atelier BUDAPEST 2016 website 

Get to know our host: Armel Opera Festival

The Armel Opera Festival – established in 2008 – is presenting five operas, created in cooperation with five different opera houses annually. Leading roles in these five operas are given to the most remarkable, preselected singers of the international, two-round Armel Opera Competition. It is mainly staging opera rarities, contemporary operas and the modern adaptations of timeless classics, and has been working with French classical music channel Mezzo since the beginning. The full Festival programme was broadcast by Mezzo a number of times. In 2010 Arte Live Web joined in to make Armel Opera Festival’s programme available worldwide. This achievement is still unmatched in Hungary.

Budapest it the capital and the largest city of Hungary. It offers a peculiar cultural context as it was heavily damaged in WWII and its people have been behind the Iron Curtain until fairly recently. Budapest has a large Jewish community and historically Jewish Quarter. Nowadays, it is one of the largest cities in the European Union. It’s Hungary’s principal cultural center. Its cultural scene is clustered with museums, galleries, theatres, concert halls, movie theatres, and not to mention the many Budapest festivals and events that consume the city year-round.

For all details visit the Atelier BUDAPEST 2016 website.