EFA Publications

EFA launched the EFA BOOKS Series in 2006. The book series puts in the spotlight the role of the arts, culture and festivals in the society of today and highlights contemporary challenges. It contributes to and stimulates further discussion on cultural issues and it involves festivals in the international debate with politicians and cultural operators. Furthermore, in the course of the years, EFA has published and co-published several other publications.

The Ultimate Cookbooks for Cultural Managers

A substantial part of the activity of contemporary artists, festivals, venues, touring and production companies, in the live music and performing arts encompasses cross-border cultural cooperation. 

Too often when working together on an international artistic programme, unexpected problems arise based on misunderstandings or wrong assumptions about European legislation and procedures ruling bureaucratic aspects needed for this international cooperation to be the best collaboration it can be. 

In this What you didn’t know about Europe - The Ultimate Cookbook for Cultural Managers series we worked with legal experts with an in-depth understanding and knowledge of the sector to bring you a series of booklets designed to help you navigate these important procedures by explaining in an easy to read and understandable way what one should know and remember of each specific theme.

What you didn’t know about Europe - The Ultimate Cookbook for Cultural Managers series: 

EU Digital Strategy | EU Green Deal | Social security | Artist taxation | Value Added Tax (VAT) | Copyright Visas

These books exist in various languages: English, Czech and the copyright book also exists in French. You can download them for free here below. Infographics complement some of the books by translating the most important information into a condensed and visual way.  

I - What you didn’t know about Europe - The Ultimate Cookbook for Cultural Managers series: Connecting the EU Digital strategy with live performance organisations (2023 edition) - download it in English.

II - What you didn’t know about Europe - The Ultimate Cookbook for Cultural Managers series: The EU Green Deal and Live Performance Organisations (2023 edition) - download it in English. Download the infographic.

III - What you didn’t know about Europe - The Ultimate Cookbook for Cultural Managers series: Social Security in an International Context (updated in 2021) - download it in English / čeština (Czech). Download the infographic.

IV - What you didn’t know about Europe - The Ultimate Cookbook for Cultural Managers series: Artist Taxation in an International Context (updated in 2021) - download it in English / čeština (Czech). Download the infographic.

V - What you didn’t know about Europe - The Ultimate Cookbook for Cultural Managers series: VAT in an International Context (updated in 2021) - download it in English / čeština (Czech). Download the infographic.

VI - What you didn’t know about Europe - The Ultimate Cookbook for Cultural Managers series: Copyright Clearing for Live Events in an International Context (updated in 2021) - download it in English / français (French) / čeština (Czech).

VII - What you didn’t know about Europe - The Ultimate Cookbook for Cultural Managers series: Visas for Third Country National Artists Travelling to the Schengen Area (updated in 2020) - download it in English / čeština (Czech). Download the infographic.

EFA BOOKS 7: Cahier de l'Atelier #2

After ten inspiring years of Ateliers for Young Festival Managers (an initiative of the European Festivals Association), we have the honour to present you the Cahier de l’Atelier # 2. During those ten years The Festival Academy gathered more than 500 people, mentors and participants alike, from different regions across the globe, all willing to share an even broader spectrum of inspiration, perspectives and knowledge. The young ones gain from the indisputable experience of established mentors, but maybe once in a while it was and is as well the other way around, because sharing knowledge is so much more than a one-way street, and resembles all the more a unique maze of small alleys, side-streets and crossroads.

Cahier de l’Atelier # 2 is more than an extraordinary compilation of insights and interpretations, because this work is conceived as a newly composed dialogue between mentors and participants, present at one or several of the past Ateliers. This allows us to transcend time and space for a moment and to take the time to reflect on what has been said, to extract the essenceof today’s urgent issues for festivals taking place all over the world and situate this firmly in a contemporary global context.

Price:

  • For EFA members: €10
  • For non-EFA members: €15

EFA BOOKS 7 was published in 2017

EFA BOOKS 6: Beyond Visions: A policy on culture in Europe

EFA and the European House for Culture are happy to present the sixth publication in the EFA book series, Beyond Visions: A policy on culture in Europe. This new book features essays from leading lawmakers from the European Institutions on the future of cultural policy in Europe. Nine of Members of the European Parliament and the Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport were invited to contribute to this volume. They shared their personal visions for the role culture can play in European policy development and decision making.

The essays are part of an ongoing campaign the European House for Culture has been working on called The Decisive Deal: A European Resolution on Culture, For Values, Democracy and Citizenship. It was a participatory process to gather ideas on cultural policy from across Europe and advance them during various events and online over the last several years.

Between the introductory essay by Vânia Rodrigues, Arts Manager & Consultant and Member of the European House for Culture, and the ideas presented by the policy makers, a clear work plan and mission for the cultural sector is clear. It is now up to you to join them in that mission or inspire new ideas and goals they should be reaching for.

It is our hope that the Resolution and this publication will inspire action in the European Institutions, in the Member States at large, as well as the local level. We invite you to join us in this collaborative work process.

Price:

  • For EFA members: €10
  • For non-EFA members: €15

To order email info@efa-aef.eu and for a Full PDF click here.

EFA BOOKS 6 was published in 2016

EFFE Guide

The ultimate guide for cultural festivals in Europe.

“The unique ability of festivals to draw a crowd that is curious to encounter ‘the other’ is as relevant as ever.” (Vincent Bauriller, President of the EFFE International Jury)

Since its foundation in 1952, the European Festivals Association has brought the importance of arts and culture to society’s attention. The new programme EFFE, Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe, is a next step in the Asscociation’s work. It brings together festivals that are deeply committed to the arts, their communities and Europe in a new and dynamic platform and honours them with the EFFE labels and EFFE Awards.

The EFFE Guide is the festival guidebook celebrating the label and award recipients. It contains both inspiring articles on festival life as well as essential details on each festival taking part in this platform. Inclusion in the EFFE Guide makes festivals’ information easily accessible to audiences, colleagues in the arts, artists, performing arts companies, public authorities at all levels, sponsors and the media.

This first edition of the EFFE programme is a pilot project set up by the European Festivals Association and supported by the European Commission to recognize, enrich and celebrate the immense power and contribution the arts and festivals in particular can make to European society.

Price: 

19,99€
Order the e-book here!

The EFFE Guide was published in 2015.

Festival Bytes Booklets

Festival Bytes is a blog initiated by the European Festivals Association (EFA), the Festival Network uniting festivals from all over Europe and beyond. Festival Bytes is a space for story-telling about festivals, a space to share the ideas of personalities from the festival and cultural sectors on the role of arts and culture in general and of festivals in particular. This blog invites and hosts bloggers: they make us think; they take us behind the scenes of their activities; they share their insights and expertise, exchange their ideas and visions, explore trends and best practices. They inspire us and invite to share our own (digital) stories.

Next to the digital blog, we also want to offer a publication with a selection of blog posts. You can download the annual booklets for free and read them on your tablet or phone.

Cover Festival Bytes 2014

Serving Artists Serves the Public

The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the European Festivals Association (EFA) jointly released an e-publication entitled "Serving Artists Serves the Public". The book talks about the opportunities and challenges of programming arts festivals in Asia and Europe. 

The publication is a compilation of 13 articles on various facets of managing arts festivals. It is a follow-up to the Atelier for Young Festival Managers held in May 2011 in Singapore. This EFA programme took place for the first time in Asia with the support of ASEF. It was organised with the Association of Asian Performing Arts Festivals (AAPAF), at the initiative of CultureLink Singapore and its Director, Ms GOH Ching-Lee. 

The Atelier brought together a group of young festival organisers in order to share their experiences. They had opportunities to learn from the successes and failures of world-renowned festival directors, who were invited to speak at the event. As a result of this exchange opportunity, this e-publication will work as a handbook for upcoming editions of the Atelier in Asia and Europe. 

Among the contributors are Ms Robyn ARCHER, the multi-faceted Australian artist; Mr Hugo DE GREEF, theatre director and Advisor to the Minister of Culture for the Flemish Community; Ms Kathrin DEVENTER, Secretary General of EFA; Ms Katelijn VERSTRAETE, Director, Arts & Creative Industries (East Asia), British Council; and Ms. Audrey WONG, Singapore's first Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) for its arts community. Their articles are a useful reflection on the social role of local and international festivals, as well as the need for capacity building among young festival managers.

Download the publication here.

"Serving Artists Serves the Public" was published in 2013.

European Festivals Association: 60 Years On!

On the occasion of its 60th anniversary celebrations in 2012, the European Festivals Association (EFA) released its Jubilee publication as well as a short film clip entitled “60 Years On: Festivals and the World”. 

The European Festivals Association: 60 Years On!" is a book about the European Festivals Association, and its 60 years as a network for solidarity, growth, diversity, artistic endeavour and for people; a book about Europe in times of transitions and enlargement; a Europe in the process of re-invention, integration and the creation of Europe as cultural project; a book about the nature of cultural networks and their mission, their added value, their projects and what they mean to their members. And, of course, a book about festivals as platforms for artistic creation and social actions deeply rooted in society. 

Eminent festival directors speak about what EFA has meant, means now and can mean for citizens, Europe and the world. They share their personal experiences and what they see as EFA’s continuing contribution to cultural Europe. Sister networks, insiders, friends and supporters from across the globe present their visions for 60 years on.

Price:

  • For EFA members: €12
  • For non-EFA members: €17

EFA 60 Years On! was published in 2012.

EFA BOOKS 5: “Inside/Insight Festivals. 9 Festival Directors — 9 Stories”

A festival is a complex creature that requires careful tending and nurturing. Each festival director brings their own vision, experience, intuition, ambition and inspiration to the process of shaping it — each negotiates the politics, economics, and the social realities of the city where it takes place.

Nine directors from four continents who have headed or are still at the head of festivals share their thoughts; their dreams and dilemmas; the problems they have encountered, and how they succeeded or failed to solve them. And above all: how they established artistic landmarks in the times and environments that were their own.

Robyn Archer is a key figure in Australian festival life; Maria Magdalena Schwaegermann has left marks on the German, Swiss and Australian festival landscapes; Serina Chen has been a fireball of activity on the Taiwanese cultural scene; Belgian Frie Leysen is one of the most experienced personalities on the international theatre scene; Thorunn Sigurdardottir sheds light on culture in Iceland, where she works; Rose Fenton and Lucy Neal co-founded a highly successful festival in the UK that is still up and running; Carla van Zon looks at the arts and cultural exchanges in New Zealand; and Ching-Lee Goh has contributed immensely to further the place of Singaporean artists and festival networking.

Price:

  • For EFA members: €10
  • For non-EFA members: €15

EFA BOOKS 5 was published in 2012.

EFA BOOKS 4: “Dialogue. Festivals Act for an Intercultural Society”

In the follow-up of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, EFA BOOKS 4 “Dialogue. Festivals Act for an Intercultural Society” casts the immense potential of festivals to enable DIALOGUE in societies, to move borders and remove barriers. “Artists think about society, criticise what they see, analyse deficits and challenges, while simultaneously offering visions for the future. Festivals channel this visionary and imaginative artistic force in order to expose audiences to what is innovative, original, excellent, to what is the ‘other’. That is the inherent task of a festival: to create exceptional festive moments of dialogue between the arts and the public.”.

“Dialogue” is an inspiring collection of articles, interviews and discussions; an insightful anthology of different festivals’ itineraries, urban realities and cultural approaches to cities and their inhabitants; a compilation of the thoughts of seven festival directors about festivals’ roles in our diverse societies.

Contributors include: Hortense Archambault (Avignon), Per Boye Hansen (Bergen), Joachim Sartorius (Berlin), Enrique Gámez Ortega (Granada), Yeşim Gürer Oymak (Istanbul), Yossi Tal-Gan (Jersualem), and Ibrahim Spahić (Sarajevo).

The authors shed light on festivals paving the way towards an intercultural society. Their views are preceded by a foreword written by Commission Director General Odile Quintin and an introduction by EFA Secretary General Kathrin Deventer.

Price:

  • For EFA members: €10
  • For non-EFA members: €15

EFA BOOKS 4 was published in 2009.

EFA BOOKS 3: “Cahier de l’Atelier. Arts festivals for the sake of art?“

EFA BOOKS 3, “Cahier de l’Atelier. Arts festivals for the sake of art?“ has been published in October 2008. “Cahier de l’Atelier” is an invaluable reference book about arts festivals, full of vivid personal anecdotes, thoughtful insights and inspirational, daring visions. 

In it, the European Festivals Association has given the chair to renowned directors Bernard Faivre d’Arcier, Frans de Ruiter, Gerard Mortier, Nele Hertling, Sir Brian McMaster, Gavin Henderson, Rose Fenton, Darko Brlek, Tom Stromberg and Ritsaert ten Cate; with an introduction by Hugo De Greef and a foreword by European Commissioner Ján Figel’. Each of them has invaluable experiences to share; and each of them shares the view that whatever their differences, all arts festivals must be there for art’s sake. In “Cahier de l’Atelier”, these men and women evoke their experiences and the challenge of creating arts festivals that enrich artistic expression.

This publication, as well as the one-week training course ‘European Atelier for Young Festival Managers’, express the EFA’s commitment to the passing on of knowledge, and the primacy of artistic intentions. Find out more about the Atelier for Young Festival Managers!

Price:

  • For EFA members: €10
  • For non-EFA members: €15

EFA BOOKS 3 was published in 2008.

EFA BOOKS 2: “Give, Get or Get Off. Challenges of cultural networks today”

EFA BOOKS 2, “Give, Get or Get Off. Challenges of cultural networks today”, published in March 2008 presents the outcomes of the conference "Cultural Networks at Work", which was organised by the European Festivals Association (EFA) and the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) in Brussels in June 2007. 

The book is offering some general conclusions, a series of presentations but also personal statements about cultural networks and their challenges and opportunities for networking in the cultural sector. The book reflects the diverse statements and point of views made during the conference, and aims to enrich and stimulate the debate about the efficiency, utility and tasks of cultural networks in an international context.

Price:

  • For EFA members: €10
  • For non-EFA members: €15

EFA BOOKS 2 was published in 2008.

EFA BOOKS 1: “Still so much to be done. Challenges for Culture in Europe”

EFA BOOKS 1 entitled “Still so much to be done. Challenges for Culture in Europe” is an anthology published in December 2006 on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Denis de Rougemont, founder and first president of EFA. 

It features prominent European cultural scientists, professionals and politicians including Anne-Marie Autissier (Paris VIII University), Frans de Ruiter (Leiden University), Rik Pinxten (Gent University), Dr. Volker Hassemer (Spokesperson of the initiative “A Soul for Europe”) and then European Commission President José Manuel Barroso (nota bene a student of Denis de Rougemont). 

The authors study the notion of culture from a historical, philosophical, political, cultural and sometimes very personal perspective. The way they draw the line from immediate post-war integration to the meaning of culture today and its challenges in the future makes this anthology an important reflection on the key role the arts, artistic expressions, cultural networks, such as EFA, and the civil society engagement. 

Price:

  • For EFA members: €10
  • For non-EFA members: €15

EFA BOOKS 1 was published in 2006; it was republished in a second edition in 2007.

How to order EFA publications

EFA's publications are available for purchase. Please contact the EFA Secretariat at info@efa-aef.eu for prices.