Programme
This seven-day long capacity building programme was addressed to festival curators and emerging festival makers from all over the world, regardless of age, gender and nationality, who were interested in exchanging knowledge and experiences between professionals active in the field of festivals and who wished to improve their management skills, learn from renowned experts and exchange ideas and best practices with other participants.
The Atelier is about the participants!
The 25th Atelier for Young Festival Managers - Chemnitz 2025 was a tailor-made capacity building programme focused on the needs of the specific group who took part in the programme, based on the analysis of the expectations of the selected participants. The topics and issues raised by the selected participants were further developed during the Atelier: in panel discussions guided by renowned festival leaders and cross-sector experts from across the globe, in small working groups, thematic meals, cross-discipline round tables and plenary sessions. There was plenty of time and space for official and informal one-to-one talks during the programme and during meals and cultural visits, as the sharing of experiences and networking were key to the Atelier.
You can find the full programme of Atelier Chemnitz 2025 here.
Topics explored were, amongst others:
- Innovative forms of leadership
- Different models of curating, focusing on building audiences/communities
- Digital innovation and new technologies
- The social, environmental and artistic impact of festivals: how festivals are/can be agents for social change and social cohesion
- Fundraising (beyond subventions)
- How and if festivals can contribute to strengthening global identities and values and tackle rising nationalism
- Decolonisation
- Equitey and Fair international collaboration (and trade) including the UNESCO 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
- Festivals and the integration of underrepresnted or fragile communities (people of colour, first nation people, migrant/refugees, LGTBQIA+, disabled people, children and youth, etc.)
- Sustainable festival-making on all levels
- Freedom of expression and the relevance of artistic boycott
All these workshops and conversations were developed in close relation with our partners, Chemnitz European Capital of Culture 2025, and the context in which the Atelier took place, serving as a source of inspiration and discussions by meeting local actors.