The Festival Academy, an initiative of the European Festivals Association (EFA), announces that the Atelier for Young Festival Managers will take place for the second time in Asia from 31 August to 6 September 2015 in Gwangju, South Korea.  Call for applications from emerging artistic festival directors from around the world.

Atelier for Young Festival Managers in Gwangju
31 August – 6 September 2015: Call for Application

Are you part of the next generation of artistic festival directors? Do you want to broaden your programming skills and be inspired by experienced leaders in the field? Do you want to join a new network of future festival leaders worldwide?

The Festival Academy, an initiative of the European Festivals Association (EFA), is delighted to announce that the Atelier for Young Festival Managers will take place for the second time in Asia from 31 August to 6 September 2015 in Gwangju, South Korea. The Atelier Gwangju will coincide with the inauguration of the Asian Culture Complex (ACC), in close collaboration with the Chonnam National University and the ACC's Asian Arts Theatre. Ten renowned festival directors will guide 45 participants from the region and from all over the world through the 7-day training programme in this special context of a very ambitious and momentous art project in Korea.



“It is our pleasure to host global festivities, which will be filled with diverse experiences and creative visions of young festival managers coming from all around the world. The Atelier Gwangju 2015 will be all the more meaningful because it will be held in conjunction with the opening festival of the Asian Culture Complex. We would like to invite all young festival managers to take part in this great occasion to meet future leaders of arts and culture and to get inspired in the city of light, Gwangju.”
Kang-Lae Lee, Dean Graduate School of Culture - Chonnam National University

“We are delighted to host the Atelier for Young Festival Managers in partnership with Chonnam National University. Our grand opening festival will provide an arena where different perspectives and visions can freely collide and mingle. As one of Asia's most ambitious cultural initiatives, our festival will be a timely opportunity for future generations of festival managers to question and explore the most pertinent discourses of Asia today. ” Seonghee Kim, Artistic Director Asian Culture Complex - Asian Arts Theatre

The Atelier for Young Festival Managers is an intense 7-day training programme addressed at emerging artistic festival directors or those who aspire to get involved in programming or in related departments within a festival. It is about sharing experiences and passing on knowledge to the next generation of festival makers; knowledge about programming a festival focusing on the very essence of art festivals – the arts and the artist.

The Atelier is guided by the motto “The true role of a festival is to help artists to dare, to engage in new projects,” quote from Bernard Faivre d’Arcier, President of the Lyon Biennial, former Director of the Avignon Festival and Atelier mentor.

At least 45 young festival managers from all over the world will be selected to participate in the Atelier. Around 10 distinguished festival directors, will each attend for minimum three full days and work together with participants throughout the 7 days. In lectures, one-on-one talks, group discussions as well as intense workshops on case studies, issues such as artistic vision, public responsibility, creation and co-production, internationalisation, networking, renewal and sustainability will be explored.

Participants

The Atelier is a working space especially designed for festival operators:

• Dealing with one or more artistic disciplines within a festival


• Having a basic practical knowledge in festival operation


• Demonstrating the ambition to deepen their skills in the field of programming or in a department closely related to it (e.g. communication, production...)


• Proving alternatively that a study course (already completed or due to be completed) is in line with the Atelier


• Giving evidence of his/her ambition to work in the festival business

Deadline for applications: 12 January 2015