Festivals emerge in response to a variety of different factors, for some
it is the vision of an individual artist/curator, for others it is in
response to a communal action or a policy initiative on the part of a
local authority or other 'destination'. Surprisingly, given how
ubiquitous festivals are in today's cultural landscape, there is limited
comparative work on how such different starting points support the
growth and the sustainability of a festival. 

Furthermore, as festivals become established with a Board and diverse
stakeholders, the balance of power can shift along with the festival's
objectives. 

This symposium will explore the governance and leadership of festivals
(eg governed by a Board of Directors, an artistic director, a
collective or the local authority) and the impact of different
structures on the festival in terms of its organisational development,
its artistic programme, its ability to position itself within cultural
policy agendas and the impact of political leadership.  

The main interest is to examine the evidence for the effectiveness of
different organisational models in meeting a festival's objectives, in
relation to artistic programming, audience development and placemaking
and the implications when things go wrong. 

Presentations are invited to investigate Festival Governance and
Leadership either through a consideration of leadership theory, a case
study approach to a specific festival or a comparative perspective
through stages of transformation, growth and/or crisis management.  This
might take the form of a forensic analysis of the key factors that might
contribute to a festival's success or failure.

Please note: all presentations should be in PowerPoint format (maximum
10 slides) and last no more than 15 minutes to allow ample time for
discussion. Those who submit PowerPoints accept by submission that
these presentations can be made available after the event at the EFPR
public depository, on the EFA  website (www.efa-aef.org).

Proposals for presentations should be submitted to Leila Jancovich in
the UK Centre for Events Management at Leeds Metropolitan University
([email protected])
Deadline for submission of proposals - May 25 2009
Notification of acceptance or rejection - June 10th 2009
Presentation in PowerPoint format - September 30th 2009