News
EFA members join forces in collaboration project “MusMA”
(Brussels, 20 September 2010) “MusMA”, Music Masters on Air: European Broadcasting Festival, is an international collaboration project of some 10 major European festivals initiated by the Flanders Festival Brussels. MusMA was brought to life in the framework of the project “FestLab for Creativity and Innovation” of the European Festivals Association (EFA) in 2009. On 2/3 September 2010 at the European House of Culture in Brussels, directors from participating festivals held their General Meeting which paved the way for future collaboration in the next three years.
MusMa gives selected young composers from seven European countries the opportunity to present themselves on stages abroad. European festivals join forces to develop a platform for this new, unknown contemporary music. Supported by the European Union and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), MusMA aims to promote contemporary classical music as such and to let people discover the diverse sounds of new and innovative classical music.
In a press conference organised in the framework of the General Meeting on 2 September, the MusMA project was presented to the public. EFA Secretary General Kathrin Deventer underlined the importance of artistic collaboration beyond borders.
Among the participating festivals are: the Festival van Vlaanderen Internationaal Brussel-Europa (Belgium), Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada (Spain), Festival Ljubljana (Slovenia), International Festival Wratislavia Cantans (Poland), Brno International Music Festival (Czech Republic), Estoril Festival / Estoril Music Weeks (Portugal) and International Ankara Music Festival (Turkey). Festivals from Hungary, Italy and Serbia will join soon.
The EU funded project includes all in all 9 co-productions all over Europe in 2010/2011 that are broadcasted by different radio stations. The latest MusMA concert, a production of the Polish International Festival Wratislavia Cantans, took place on 16 September 2010 in Brussels: the Polish string quartet ‘Lutoslawski Quartet Wroclaw’ was presented in the framework of the KlaraFestival.
Find out more at www.musma.eu.
Innovative and creative festival projects to foster access to culture in 2010
The seventh and last 2009 edition of the FestFlash for Creativity and Innovation looks back on the festival year 2009 and gives a first impression on the ambitions of the initiative FestLab for Creativity and Innovation of the European Festivals Association (EFA) for 2010.
The 2009 European Year of Creativity and Innovation put emphasis on the importance to foster creative and innovative talents in our societies. Culture has proved to be an important factor in this scenario. Throughout 2009, under the umbrella of the EFA FestLab for Creativity and Innovation, festivals raised awareness of the important role artistic creativity plays in today’s complex, rapidly changing world. Following these activities, in 2010, the European Festivals Association will continue its efforts in strengthening and promoting festivals as platforms for creative encounters and societal participation.
In the framework of the 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion – under the motto ‘Open Doors, Open Minds, Build Societies’ – festivals are invited to send in their projects that increase ‘access’ to creation, education, and participation! Keep an eye on the FestFlash! EFA is looking forward to festivals’ continued engagement for a cultural Europe in 2010!
FestLab for Creativity and Innovation – a successful initiative to be continued
Renowned festival directors from Europe and beyond have been involved in the FestLab initiative of the European Festivals Association throughout 2009. Festivals from all over Europe and beyond received the FestLabPass, incorporated its objectives in their programming and proved to be perfect vehicles to foster creativity and innovation.
The FestLab initiative is to be continued in 2010: festivals are invited to sign up and submit their innovative projects!
Voices from the world of festivals 2009
• David Dittrich, Director Contentus Moraviae Festival: “The FestLab is an excellent opportunity to establish cooperation and co-productions”
• Ruta Pruseviciene, Executive Director Vilnius Festival: “It is crucial to be active in the European culture arena”
• Per Boye Hansen, Director Bergen International Festival: “To move on we have to take chances. When we do, we challenge ourselves, our artists and our audiences”
Check the seventh edition of the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation to read their full statements!
Interview: Mexican festivals stress importance of international collaboration
Innovative and creative projects are initiated by festivals all over the world. The two major Mexican festivals - Festival Internacional Cervantino and Festival de México – are two excellent examples of development of new and challenging programmes. They are aware that collaborating with festivals from different countries and continents can only be enriching – both for artist and audience!
The Festival Internacional Cervantino is a multi-artistic festival held in the colonial city of Guanajuato and one of the most dynamic and creative art festivals in Latin America. The programming of the festival includes music, opera, theatre, dance, art exhibitions, literary seminars and film. It tends to balance popular and classical art forms, and offers both traditional and avant-garde performances. Every year, more than 70 different productions and 100 performances are offered in 10 venues by artists coming from some 30 countries. Special productions of opera, theatre and dance are offered, along with new music works.
The Festival de México is the most important cultural event in Mexico City and one of the most dynamic and creative art festivals in Latin America. Each year since 1985, the festival organises events that foster connection and reflection in the largest Historic Downtown area on the continent. These events include: Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Children’s Activities, Academic Events and Open-Air Events. All are distinguished for their excellence, innovation, diversity and the balance they strike between tradition and the avant-garde.
Both festivals are perfectly embracing the objectives of the FestLabPass - given to festivals in the framework of the EFA 2009 flagship project FestLab for Creativity and Innovation - as they enhance the mobility of artistic ideas; provide opportunities for the creation of new works exploring cross-disciplinary, interactive approaches; and as they take into consider¬ation intercultural dialogue as a mean for the promotion of cultural diversity by developing strong cross-border and cross-continental collaboration projects. Read ahead to find out what they did in 2009 and what they envision for 2010!
In dialogue with…
…Lidia Camacho, General Director Festival Internacional Cervantino, and José Wolffer, Director Festival de México
European Festivals Association (EFA): The interdisciplinary Festival Internacional Cervantino and the Festival de México are the most dynamic and creative art festivals in Latin America. What makes the festivals unique?
Lidia Camacho (LC): Every year, the Festival Internacional Cervantino has as special guests a country or region and a state of Mexico. In 2009, we had Quebec and Zacatecas. The City is considered Cultural Heritage by UNESCO - this explains its beauty. The festival has taken place uninterruptedly since 1972 which makes it highly expected by the national and the international community. The public that attends the festival is manly constituted by young people and every year increases.
José Wolffer (JW): The Festival de México takes place in one of the most dynamic urban areas in the world, and in particular in the oldest and one of them most impressive historical centers (catalogued by UNESCO) on the American continent. This setting provides a fantastic background for an intensive two and a half week programme which includes a wide sampling of the performing arts as well as animation, film, literature, the visual arts, and many activities for children. The festival devotes a large part of its programme to contemporary art forms (as well as including other more traditional expressions) and has positioned itself as a dedicated promoter of new and challenging projects, many produced directly by the festival.
EFA: Mrs Camacho, each year, the Festival Cervantino invites guests of honour – always one region of Mexico and one foreign country/region. In 2009 it was Quebec and Zacatecas. Why do you think internationalisation of a city/country through the efforts of a festival is important?
LC: This was the need of giving the festival more personality showing the culture of a specific region/country and at the same time to allow them to show the audience their diversity and richness.
EFA: Mr Wolffer, in 2009, the Festival de México has established a partnership with the Linz-based, very innovative “Ars Electronica Center”. Could you tell us a bit about the collaboration? Why is collaboration with Europe and European festivals important for you?
JW: Ars Electronica is the oldest festival dedicated to electronic art forms and as such has been a trailblazer on a world-wide level. Ars Electronica and the Festival de México have jointly curated an ambitious exhibition which showcases signature works developed by European artists who have opened new avenues of artistic exploration. And it also adds a particular twist: the works will be presented in March of 2010, a year during which Mexico and other Latin American countries celebrate the Bicentennial of their independence. This represents a wonderful opportunity for creating a meaningful dialogue between European artists and their Latin American counterparts, who will be featured as well in the show.
EFA: The installation project “White Shadow” and the animation competition “Animasivo” are great example for your openness towards new art forms and new technologies – which is often still a challenge for the audience. Is it important to ensure a balance between tradition and the avant-garde?
JW: The White Shadow project, developed during March 2009, represented a preview of the larger collaboration with Ars Electronica slated for 2010. I feel that festivals such as the Festival de México need to play a leading role in introducing new art forms and new ways of thinking to the wider public. At the same time, a festival as diverse as this one must also maintain a balance between tradition and innovation; this is clearly expressed each year in our programme, which covers a wide spectrum ranging from opera to alternative rock and animation.
EFA: The Festival Cervantino also aims to balance new and classical art forms, and offers both traditional and avant-garde performances. Why do you think the creation process offered through a festival is important in terms of the artistic impact on the community in Guanajuato?
LC: The Festival Internacional Cervantino is a forum for constant reflection and analysis of the different artistic proposals. This has allowed the local artists to compare their creations and themselves as artists so they can enrich and update their way of conceiving art. In the same way the audience has become more critical and demanding.
EFA: The Festival Cervantino is often compared with the Edinburgh International Festival, one of the most important and innovative festivals in Europe. In 2010 you are collaborating. Why is the collaboration between festivals on an international level so important and how do you approach this collaboration?
LC: The characteristics of both festivals are very similar. This kind of collaboration represents for us an essential way of the interaction that all festivals should have. We will work with the Edinburgh Festival in some co-productions and advisory in exchanging experiences which will result in mutual benefit for both organisations.
EFA: Mr Wolffer, the Festival de México runs again in March 2010. What is your next approach to stay an innovative trigger for artists in your country?
JW: The festival is now regarded by Mexican artists as one of the prime venues for developing new and exciting projects which reach a wide audience. This is an avenue of programming which we will intensify in the following years, though at the same time we will be careful about maintaining a well-considered balance with expressions brought from abroad. Large-scale foreign productions are of course one of our mainstays, but I feel that we will be especially relevant for the Mexican artistic community insofar as local artists regard us as an adventurous and open-minded partner for developing new proposals.
FestFlash 6: Festivals world-wide engage in innovative collaborations
Again, the featured projects in the sixth edition of the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation prove that festivals are excellent platforms to foster intercultural dialogue. But what’s more, they are excellent vehicles to exploit the exchange between cultures and stimulate the establishment of innovative collaboration activities.
Before looking into creative practices and news of festivals from Occident to Orient, from Asia to South-America, some news at a glance:
What is the role of cultural diversity as a basis for creativity and innovation? The 6th Brussels Debate came to the conclusion: “Cultural diversity broadens our vision and makes us appreciate the different ways of seeing and doing things in other cultures. This openness allows us to select and absorb elements of other cultures, helping to produce new ways of thinking, seeing, imagining and creating.”
Food for thought for a new innovation policy in the policy-making process is also given through e.g. a manifesto by the Ambassadors of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation; a position paper by the working group “Creativity/Creation” of the Access to Culture Platform; a joint statement by the European sectoral social partners ‘live performance’; as well as the EFA statement guiding the mission of the FestLab for Creativity and Innovation.
In the most recent Brussels Debate (19 November 2009) Ruta Prusiviciene, Director Vilnius Festival, stressed that “too often arts and culture are not priority in policies.” In this regard a real dialogue between the different sectors – arts, culture, business, science, research – is more than needed!
Innovative and creative projects are initiated by festivals all over the world. The two major Mexican festivals - Festival Internacional Cervantino and Festival de México – are two excellent examples of development of new and challenging programmes. They are aware that collaborating with festivals from different countries and continents can only be enriching – both for artist and audience!
Find out which festivals all over the world collaborate with whom!
The FestLab for Creativity and Innovation is an initiative of the European Festivals Association launched at the occasion of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. It is established to spotlight the excellence of festivals in the creative and societal process and to give incentives to successfully fulfill the festivals’ core mission which still is the artistic one.
EFA invites all arts festivals to sign up to the initiative “FestLab for Creativity and Innovation” and commit to its objective. Read the Open Call here.
Download the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation No 6/2009 here. Keep an eye on the FestFlash that is distributed widely – it is also featured on the EFA FestLab website!
To receive the FestFlash by e-mail, write to Juliane@efa-aef.eu .
Alex Nowitz wins 2. ECPNM European Competition for Live-Electronic Music Projects
More than 40 projects from all over Europe were proposed for the 2. ECPNM European Competition for Live-Electronic Music Projects. An international jury selected 6 projects; on 4 October they were premiered at the final concert of the ISCM World New Music Days 2009 in Gothenburg. The jury awarded Alex Nowitz (Germany) as winner of the competition. He performed himself in his work "Minotaurus" (for singer/performer, live-el. gestural controllers).
The following works were selected for this final:
• Anne Parlevliet (Netherlands) - "Open" for piano & live-electronics
• Katarina Glowicka (Netherlands/Poland) - "Turbulence" for piano, live-electronics & video
• Panayiotis Kokoras (Greece) - "Hit the beat" for amplified snare drum and live-electronics
• Jan Trützschler (Netherlands) - "Cut" for paper, percussion and electronics
• Alex Nowitz (Germany) - "Minotaurus" for singer/performer, live-electronic gestural controllers
• Maurits Fennis (Netherlands) - "Proteon", interface, software, algae
Pianist Sonsoles Alonso performed in the works by Anne Parlevliet and Katarina Glowicka, and percussionist Jonny Axelsson performed in the works by Jan Trütschler and Panayiotis Kokoras. For technical reasons the work by Maurits Fennis couldn’t be performed on 4 October. All other works were recorded by Swedish Radio and broadcast some days later.
The winning project (and some of the other finalists) will be programmed in the festivals of several members of the European Conference of Promoters of New Music (ECPNM) in the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Italy in the coming year. The winner furthermore receives a residency in the EMS studio in Stockholm.
Interview with Paul McCreesh: "A festival is a crucible for regenerating music tradition"
Dating back to 1966, the Wratislavia Cantans festival honours the magnificence of vocal and choral music as well as the oratorio tradition in the historical settings of Wroclaw and the Silesian region. The festival has been known for its innovative alliances, notably cross-disciplinary, combining music with other art forms, as the visual arts and films, but also bringing music from different sorts together. Currently, the festival’s artistic director is Paul McCreesh. He is specialised in the music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods yet has also been working with modern instrument orchestras throughout the world.
European Festivals Association & Cristina Farinha/LabforCulture.org (EFA/CF): In which ways the 2009 programme translates the FestLab mission and acts as a nest for fostering new visions and stimulating new works?
Paul McCreesh (PM): The current policy is to focus on the very original aims of the festival, as set out by the founder conductor Andzej Markowski. Thus we have invited many of the finest choirs and solo vocalists and we have set the emphasis on the art of the voice, the great oratorio tradition and in general, music that engages the spectrum of human spirituality. We had no festival co-productions, our performances involved the collaboration between artists and Wratislavia’s excellent ensembles. This is, I believe, the pioneering aspect of the festival.
An international festival should serve two purposes. 1. To bring outstanding artists into the region. 2. To produce programmes that cannot be heard in the city’s concert season. One of the greater values of the festival is that these events should influence and develop ensembles in the cities and region; in order to broaden and improve performance standards.
EFA/CF: Indeed, a festival is in its essence a local happening. Why nevertheless you consider important to be part of such a European-wide initiative such as the FestLab for Creativity and Innovation?
PM: One of the most interesting things about working as I do in so many countries, is to realise the huge musical history that concerns the small geographical region that is Europe. The festival offers the opportunities to reassess these traditions; to build upon them, to exchange and sometimes to destroy them. In this way the art of music regenerates. The festival is the ideal crucible for this process.
EFA/CF: The programme included several free entrance events. Is there any special concern towards enlarging and diversifying the accessibility and inclusion of the Festival proposals as targeted by the FestLab?
PM: We are particularly keen to widen access wherever we can; in an ideal world we would recommend that all concerts would be free. On the other hand, music is a commodity with enormous expenses and even the paid concert tickets are charged at a fraction of the price and do not cover the costs of the programme.
EFA/CF: You have conducted the youth festival orchestra in an outdoor concert. Is this for you a mean to promote youngsters interest for vocal and choral music and the oratorio tradition as practitioners but also as audience?
PM: This is a new project for us and it filled me with excitement and it has to be said, also a degree of terror! This was a huge event, incorporating 1000 young Polish singers, many of them under the ‘Singer Poland’ programme. I personally believe that opera, oratorio and sacred music have a great value in the cultural landscape. I think young people get a more personal and passionate experience being practitioners as well as listeners.
We are also forming a new Wratislavia orchestra, which will incorporate our finest musicians from the city, alongside the finest young musicians in the country. I have created a similar elsewhere; I’m sure it will be exciting.
The interview is the result of a collaboration between EFA and Cristina Farinha/LabforCulture.org; it can also be read on the respective blog at LabforCulture.org.
Related document: FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation 5 / 2009
FestFlash 5: Alliances make the difference
Innovative alliances and strong commitments are the key aspects in order to further develop a cultural Europe based on creativity and participation. The fifth edition of the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation highlights:
• the International Festival Wratislavia Cantans, one of the first partners of the FestLab for Creativity and Innovation is looking for innovative alliances;
• the latest meeting in the framework of the FestLab for Creativity and Innovation in Linz provided the grounds for new alliances by bringing together the directors of Europe’s major festivals;
• the European House for Culture, officially presented to the public on 27 September 2009, offers a platform for cultural networks to develop innovative partnerships.
All this in the strong belief that Europe is first and foremost a cultural project and that culture must play a vital role in shaping the overall development of Europe: The European Festivals Association remains committed!
Further highlights of creative and innovative projects of festivals in this FestFlash edition: Gaudeamus Prize 2009, Brucknerfest Linz, international literature festival Berlin, Emilia Romagna Festival, and the European Week of Festivals of Italiafestival. Find out more!
The FestLab for Creativity and Innovation is an initiative of the European Festivals Association launched at the occasion of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. It is established to spotlight the excellence of festivals in the creative and societal process and to give incentives to successfully fulfill the festivals’ core mission which still is the artistic one.
EFA invites all arts festivals to sign up to the initiative “FestLab for Creativity and Innovation” and commit to its objective. Read the Open Call here.
Download the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation No 5/2009 here. Keep an eye on the FestFlash that is distributed widely – it is also featured on the EFA FestLab website!
To receive the FestFlash by e-mail, write to Juliane@efa-aef.eu .
Interview with BBC Proms: "It's all about investing in new talents"
In an interview, Ellara Wakely, Learning Manager at the BBC Proms, the oldest festival Europe celebrating its 115th edition in 2009, stresses: “It’s about investing in new talents.” Mrs Wakely talks about the “Inspire Young Composers' Competition” – one of the artistically innovative approaches of BBC Proms to involve people from all parts of society and to support the creative skills of young talents.
European Festivals Association (EFA): One of the most innovative projects of the BBC Proms is the Inspire Young Composers' Competition. What is the most inspiring element of this project?
Ellara Wakely (EW): For one, working with that age group is very interesting, because 12 to 18 is actually a very broad range. Young people writing music at that stage do music at school and many of them do it on their own. One of the most exciting things is when we bring them together. The scheme is not just about entering the competition, entering your own work, but it’s about attending the composers’ lab and attending a day during the Proms season where they get to meet other composers and musicians.
Secondly, the winners of the competition get the opportunity to carry on, to record the music that they have written and to work with professional musicians and professional composers. The commission is perhaps slightly different to what they have been used to writing. In a way they get the chance to kick-off their career. For young people at that age it’s quite a big thing to have their music broadcasted and work with professional composers.
Also, we renamed the competition – it used to be called the BBC Proms Young Composers Competition – and we renamed it in “Inspire” because what we wanted to do with it was to make it more than a competition and make it a place where people can gain inspiration for their own creativity. That’s something that we wanted to tie to what the Proms does. When I was young and I was writing my own music, going to the Proms was such a great way to find out about new music and the whole repertoire of music. So Proms is an opportunity to explore music.
EFA: Why do you think this project is important in the context of the BBC Proms? What are the short and the long-term outcomes of this project?
EW: The Proms on a wider scale, is about reaching the widest possible groups of people and reflecting the wide range of classical music repertoire. We are commissioning an awful lot of work. This is closely related to the learning work we do at the Proms: we work with families, young people and children - and amateur musicians. The young composers work for me is a really important part of the programme. The BBC is a big commissioning body of new music. Encouraging people to write music and explore new music works very well with the whole season.
Of course it’s about investing in new talents. It’s also about giving people the opportunity to find out what we do and what the BBC does to capture new music. It’s very exciting to hear this music and to be able to work with these young people because you never know who you will be working with and where they will be going next.
EFA: The competition is only open to UK residents. Do you also support an international exposure of the young competition winners, i.e. by collaborating with other festivals at international level?
EW: It’s a nation-wide competition. So far we have not collaborated with other festivals at international level, but we would love to do it. I know that some orchestras do competition projects in Europe. It would be fantastic to make that connection with people that are writing all over the world. Because one of the things that is really important is that young composers see what others are doing. In the UK, this is what they get from our competition. To link up with what is going on more widely in Europe and to create partnerships maybe with other members of the European Festivals Association would be an exciting development for the competition in the future.
EFA: Celebrating its 115th season in 2009, the BBC Proms is the oldest festival in Europe. How does the festival manage to still be a trend setter in terms of the production of an artistically high-quality programme and original formats?
EW: BBC Proms gets to show case so much fantastic work and we work with so many partners and with so many creative minds. The Proms’ audience is very receptive toward new music, to hear music that perhaps in another context they would not be so open to listening to. Often you will have an audience who would come to hear for example this year one of the anniversary composers, Mendelssohn or Händel. And in between they might hear some new music they might not have chosen to come and hear.
This is one of the reasons: we can push boundaries. Our audiences are prepared to listen and enjoy and to gain from this.
EFA: The long history poses a double challenge: to meet the high expectations of traditional audiences as well as to encourage new audiences to participate in the events. How do you manage?
EW: By offering something to everyone. You have people who come to every single concert and you have people who want to come and hear one special concert or you have people who want to be challenged and want to hear music that they don’t get to hear anywhere else. We always maintain that the Proms must be an accessible festival and anyone should be able to hear classical music. For example the prices are kept very low.
There are many opportunities for people to experiment. Of course not everybody wants to be challenged and hear something new, they want to hear their favourites. But you can do that at the Proms as well. So you have a really wide range of people coming for very different reasons.
Thanks to our many different formats we also manage to merge these audiences. Somehow many people have an open mind when they come in: they accept to hear things that are different – that’s why it works so well.
September 8, 2009. Interviewed by Juliane Reissig, Communication Assistant European Festivals Association.
Related document: FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation No 4 / 2009
FestFlash 4: Festivals are innovative platforms for young artists
The forth edition of the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation profiles festivals as innovative platforms for young composers and artists. How do festivals provide a platform to young composers? How do they manage to win the interest of the audience for performance of which they do not know what to expect? Again, this FestFlash highlights the outstanding excellence of festivals to act as “Laboratories of Creativity & Promoters of Innovation.”
In an interview, Ellara Wakely, Learning Manager at the BBC Proms, the oldest festival Europe celebrating its 115th edition in 2009, stresses: “It’s about investing in new talents.” Mrs Wakely talks about the “Inspire Young Composers' Competition” – one of the artistically innovative approaches of BBC Proms to involve people from all parts of society and to support the creative skills of young talents.
Further highlights of creative and innovative festivals in this FestFlash edition: Gaudeamus Music Week in Amsterdam, "George Enescu" International Festival (Bucharest/ Romania), KlaraFestival (Brussels/Belgium), Lucerne Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Rossini Opera Festival (Pesaro/Italy), Black International Cinema (Berlin) as well as a new festival collaboration network entitled “Kadmos”. Find out more!
The FestLab for Creativity and Innovation is an initiative of the European Festivals Association launched at the occasion of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. It is established to spotlight the excellence of festivals in the creative and societal process and to give incentives to successfully fulfill the festivals’ core mission which still is the artistic one.
EFA invites all arts festivals to sign up to the initiative “FestLab for Creativity and Innovation” and commit to its objective. Read the Open Call here.
Download the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation No 4/2009 here. Keep an eye on the FestFlash that is distributed widely – it is also featured on the EFA FestLab website!
To receive the FestFlash by e-mail, write to Juliane@efa-aef.eu .
"Together for a Cultural Europe": Festivals commit to engage
During a meeting on 13 September 2009, the European Festivals Association (EFA) delivered a commitment declaration to Mr Ján Figel’, European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth. Festival director from all over Europe committed to their continued engagement for a cultural Europe also during the next European Commission term. The meeting took place at the occasion of Linz – European Capital of Culture 2009 and the opening of the Brucknerfest Linz 2009.
“EFA today thanks Mr Figel’ for his steady and strong support! We underline at the same time festivals’ readiness to provide open and international platforms for artists to create
and for audiences to access culture also in the next five years and beyond,” underlines EFA President Darko Brlek.
A Declaration of Commitment to confirm festivals’ engagement for a cultural Europe also in the future is signed by all present festivals and cultural representatives.
“Ambitious objectives need strong and sustainable partnerships! EFA and its members are signalising to the future EU Culture Commissioner to continue to stand up strongly for culture and recognise the role of arts, artists and arts festivals in the European integration process,” stresses EFA Secretary General Kathrin Deventer. With the aim to establish a sustainable cultural infrastructure and to leave a lasting impact on the city’s long-term cultural, economic and social development, Martin Heller, Artistic Director Linz – European Capital of Culture 2009 (www.linz09.at), echoes this view.
20 directors from major European festivals and cultural organisations participated in the gathering, among them: Brno International Music Festival, Concentus Moraviae Festival, ECPNM, Estoril Music Weeks, European Composers’ Forum, Reykjavik Arts Festival, Festival De Musica De Canarias, Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada, Festival Mitte Europa, Brucknerhaus Linz, Ars Electronica Festival Linz, Festspiele Europaïsche Wochen Passau, Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, Ljubljana Festival, Norway Festivals, Rheingau Musik Festival, Schleswig Hollstein Musik Festival and Settimane Musicali al Teatro Olimpico (Vicenza).
Since its move from Geneva to Belgium in 2004, the European Festivals Association has developed various projects that reflect the believe that Europe is first and foremost a cultural project: the EFA BOOKS series, the European Atelier for Young Festival Managers, the European House for Culture, the FestLab for Creativity and Innovation – all highlight culture and arts as catalysts for the innovative and creative development of a European society.
Download the Commitment!