Our Summer Gathering was held on Friday 19th July as part of Surge Festival in Glasgow’s iconic Barras. The purpose of the gathering was to bring those working in the outdoor arts, circus and spectacle sector together and to spark discussion and explore how to foster better collaboration.
We were delighted to have representatives from across the UK and Ireland join our panel discussion, including Sho Shibata, Director of Outdoor Arts UK, Miriam Dunne from ISACS and Spraoi Festival in Ireland and Zoe Munn representing Articulture and Green Man Festival from Wales, as well as Alan Richardson, Artistic Director of Surge Festival.
Exploring Challenges
We explored the many challenges currently facing the sector and how we can begin to overcome the barriers to collaborative working. It was acknowledged that 10 years of cuts and spiralling costs has sadly led to many festivals going under. The sector has shrunk, and one consequence of the cuts is that some artists and companies producing new work are becoming more risk-averse, opting to create ‘safer’, more sellable work. The need to challenge audiences was emphasised as well as the importance of risk-taking, how it underpins originality and creativity, and how essential it is for the future of our artforms.
In Ireland the funding situation is more positive, but insurance and the litigious culture poses big problems for many artforms- especially circus and aerial. In a UK context, hope was expressed for the new Labour Government’s approach to culture and the proposed streamlining of Brexit red tape for artists and companies wishing to tour internationally, and for festivals and venues wishing to programme international artists. Collective pressure will help to hold the Westminster Government accountable for their promises. From a Scottish perspective a pressing issue is the fact that it is currently easier to work with Ireland than companies and artists from England, N.Ireland or Wales due to the bureaucratic issues arising when working across different U.K arts funding bodies – which urgently needs to be addressed.
Supporting Change
What is clear is that there is much work to be done to tackle the considerable challenges we face. If we can remove the barriers to a more collaborative approach, developing a strategic framework, Articulation and our sister organisations across the UK and Ireland will be better placed to support our sector, meet future challenges and develop a sustainable, thriving sector.
