In Retrospect

The Atelier for Young Festival Managers Izmir took place fom 24 to 31 October 2011. Participants developed exciting new ideas under the professional and extremely generous guidance of renowned festival managers.

Cristina Goletti (I.F. O.N.L.Y. Festival, Ireland), Participant Atelier IZM

"Being able to listen to people from all over the world offered me an incredible wider prospective. We were blessed to have incredibly renowned mentors with us for the whole week, speaking about their festivals and their experiences. The networking opportunities of the Atelier are immense and I believe I have made strong contacts, which will help me building my festival. I found myself thinking less as a European and more and more as a global citizen."

Photo credit to Haggay Baysel

Intense 7-day programme

Next to high-level reflections in small topic-based working groups, lectures and debates, practical activities and case studies, interactive exchanges based on papers that participants prepared for the Atelier, informal talks and contacts with artists and with leading cultural institutions from the region created an outstanding opportunity to link insights gained in the working groups with the concrete environment

Photo credit to Haggay Baysel

Varied Formats of Sessions

Different session formats created an outstanding opportunity to link insights with a concrete environment.

  • High-level reflections in small topic-based working groups
  • Lectures
  • Debates 
  • Practical activities and case studies
  • Interactive exchanges based on papers that participants had prepared for the Atelier
  • Informal talks and contact with artists and with leading cultural institutions from the region 

Photo credit to Haggay Baysel

Theme

The motto borrowed from Bernard Faivre d’Arcier “The true role of a festival is to help artists to dare, to engage in new projects” is the theme of the Atelier. Particular emphasis is placed on the artistic aspects of festival management, including artistic vision, political and social responsibility, internationalisation, networking, renewal and sustainability.