So we are around the halfway point in the unit and I have noticed it is at this moment each time that my brain goes aaahhhhh and I suddenly start to feel the pressure of time. Having done this course for 6 months now, I am aware of my tendencies to leave things to the last minute, which I think is really not so possible in this unit. So I’ve already reached out via email to some organisations that I think are interesting and I would like to interview.

I also like that the homework for this week is to write 250 words of a business plan. I am not very comfortable sharing my thoughts, ideas and dreams, so this feels like a challenge for me, put your idea out into the world to be read and criticised for all to see. But it’s a necessary brain-hurdle to overcome. After this weeks academic support tutorial and going over the brief, I’ve been reminded that this unit is all about being able to test and iterate your idea. So I am using this to remind myself that it doesn’t have to be perfect and the whole point of this project is to change and grow. Also, it’s completely unreasonable to expect an idea to be good just by letting it float around your own brain for 8 weeks. SO it’s time to get over the fear!

Here’s my idea.

I want to run a festival, music, performance art, poetry, workshops, film, everything and kind of art is welcome. I want it to be community focussed and inspired by DIY values. I want to encourage audience participation at all levels, weather that be with the art, workshops, or volunteering to help run the festival. I love music festivals, and the escapism it allows you to experience, but I want there to be some sense that there are skills or ideas you can take back into the real world when you ultimately return. I want the music and the art to be reflective od the local community and inclusive of artists from further away who have an affinity with the values of the event. This event could be a camping event, although this adds a whole other bunch of logistical and organisational Things To Do, so there is also the possibility of doing this in a venue there over a few days. Another possible pain point could be keeping prices affordable, but I don’t think I really need to address that so much in this unit so I will happily park that thought in a corner of my brain. It’s very important to me that the event is accessible, both financially and physically. So choosing to do this in a venue would be much easier for those reasons. Target customers would be local people who are interested in local arts and culture, people who enjoy festivals, folks who are interested in community, music fans.

I’ve organised stuff like this before, last year I was working with one of my favourite venues, Paradiso to run a benefit concert for Legal costs for activists in Amsterdam. I was an amazing evening, filled with local artists and attendees. You can check out a video from a local news station about it here, although I do apologise it is all in dutch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqGFSXfFD00

I’m really inspired by festivals like Brainchild, Fusion, Shambala, Boomtown Goulash Disko and ADM festival.

Having written all this down, I’m actually really excited to get some feedback from my peers. Personally I think the festival market is quite oversaturated at the moment, and I wonder what I can do to make my idea stand out and not be boring, and actually provide something valuable (I’m really gonna have to re-watch that lecture from week 2 eh.)

This was a long one, if you’ve made it this far well done.