FESTIVALS OF THE FUTURE
Festivals of the Future is a network dedicated to nurturing a new generation of festival leaders and developing innovative and porous new models.
In cities and localities around the world, a new kind of festival has been emerging for some time – prioritising encounters, exchange and community. Many of these festivals were born after the recent economic crisis, emerging through adversity and evolving through an increasingly uncertain global moment. These festivals courageously explore how they can catalyse artistic expression, community co-creation and togetherness both in their localities whilst reaching to the world. Artist and citizen focused, they believe in the festival as a space to invent new futures and possibilities.
Festivals of the Future brings together organisations that are small in-scale but bold in ambition to explore and imagine the festival blueprints of tomorrow. The project assembles partners from across Europe to question and interrogate their models, collaborate and exchange.
The network was launched in 2019 by Transform (UK) and this is its first iteration as a network. Festivals of the Future is comprised of core partners Take Me Somewhere (Scotland), Parallèle (France), Short Theatre (Italy) and MIR (Greece).
MORE: festivalsofthefuture.org
Experimental Performance Network
The Experimental Performance Network is a newly formed group of producers and organisations who are leaders/future leaders in experimental performance in Scotland. Take Me Somewhere is working closely with Counterflows to support this group, connected to our Festivals of The Future programme. Our purpose is to advocate for each other, find new ways of supporting artists, and to share learning and experiences to support the future/new generations, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. At present the group is made up of thirteen of Scotland's experimental, political, social, community-led, independent organisations and future leaders, each of whom support live art and performance amongst other art forms.
This group is formed of mostly performance based organisations and arts producers who present experimental work, mostly operating outside of traditional centres/mainstreams. Experimental performance in Scotland is world recognised, as are the festivals, organisations and producers who support the development and sharing of this work. This network has been formed to ensure this work continues to be central to Scotland's cultural landscape, and particularly to ensure the next generation of leaders have the capacity to develop new approaches and festival blueprints.
