AFS 2022 70-Years-On Thinking Group

Tamar Brüggemann

Wonderfeel Festival

Festivals, by their unique way of bringing people together and creating a temporary mini-society - in which we experience a different perception of time and place - have an unmatched opportunity and responsibility to take a stand and use the intrinsic value of art to give it meaning on a social, ecological, economic and spatial level, by reflecting this in their artistic programming as well as in the way the festival is organised. Festivals should not only aim for a short-term effect, but also for a long-term impact, both on a personal and on a collective level.


‘At Wonderfeel all your stress disappears. Top performances in an idyllic setting, what more can one ask for in times of crisis?’ (Dutch newspaper Trouw). Wonderfeel, an outdoor festival for classical music located in the woods near Amsterdam, was founded (in 2015) and co directed by Tamar Brüggemann. She started her career at the Utrecht Early Music Festival (2001-2013) and subsequently managed the baroque orchestra Holland Baroque for several years. In December 2019, the first edition of What About Now took place, a long night that focussed on social sustainability by celebrating the here and now. In 2023 the 9th edition of Wonderfeel will take place and the first edition of the spin-off Wonderfeel Helsinki. Besides developing her own festival concepts, Tamar also fulfilled a number of additional functions, including advising the Performing Arts Fund NL and the Municipality of Rotterdam and Amersfoort. She is currently a board member of the European Festivals Association and of the Dutch equivalent, the Performing Arts Festivals Association. Together with Peter Florence, she recently founded the European Festivals Forest Foundation to plant a forest in Iceland in cooperation with as many festivals as possible to offset their CO2 emissions. Tamar holds a Master's degree in Language and Culture Studies from Utrecht University and has studied Musicology at the Humboldt University in Berlin. From 2016-2018 she was a fellow of the International Society for the Performing Arts in New York. Since 2017 Tamar has been part of EFFE’s International Jury, which awards the biennial EFFE Awards to the most remarkable festivals in Europe. To breathe in some air outside the cultural bubble, Tamar started playing football a few years ago. Her goal is to score at least once again next season.