New Toolkit: The Organization of Festivals and Un-democratic Tendencies

"This award feels not only as a special recognition of my thesis research, but I think more importantly it is a recognition of the work people are doing out there to create spaces for people to make and experience arts in places where this is not an easy thing to do." - Mette Van Zoest

On the 27th of April, Mette van Zoest was awarded with the Cultural Management Masterthesis Award 2026, granted by The Cultural Management Fund at Antwerp University for her research. 

Developed during her Master’s Traineeship in Cultural Leadership from the University of Groningen at The Festival Academy, it draws on conversations with festival makers and cultural professionals from the TFA Alumni community working under varying degrees of restriction, pressure, and risk. Case studies and best-practice examples from the thesis “About Non-democracy: Conversation and Understanding, (Dis)trust and Space.” have been translated into a new toolkit that is now online. The toolkit "The Organisation of Festivals and Un-Democratic Tendencies" brings together insights, cases, and practical strategies on how festivals operate within - and respond to - undemocratic tendencies across different political and social contexts. 

By combining theory, lived experience, and concrete tools, the toolkit aims to support festival organizers, cultural workers, and students in reflecting on the role of festivals as spaces for dialogue, resistance, care, and community-building in times when democracy cannot be taken for granted. 

As our toolkits are considered a dynamic project, new cases and information can be added over time. Find also concise blueprints for contributing to the open‑source research on festivals and un‑democratic tendencies, offering adaptable methods for independent researchers and festival organisations to document cases, share insights, and expand the the collective body of knowledge.

Explore our new toolkit on Un-Democratic Tendencies now! Visit our platform to access the toolkit, discover additional resources, and learn more about the way festivals can be important spaces in the discourse on democracy.

"This research and the world with it, needs people to be connected and brought together." - Mette Van Zoest