BAFA Events

BAFA’s regular events are renowned for their excellent and inspiring speakers, superb venues and fantastic networking opportunities. Always well attended, our meetings and conferences offer an invaluable opportunity to exchange ideas, make new contacts and get up to speed with issues affecting arts festivals.

2010 BAFA Annual Conference

3, 4 and 5 November 2010

The Corn Exchange, Brighton

Delegates can now book their place at the upcoming 2010 BAFA Annual Conference in Brighton.

Hosted by the Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe Festival, BAFA offers three days of serious debate, interactive workshops and entertaining events which will focus on the state of festivals in these complex times:

• Festivals: Mean Business
• Festivals: Stay Connected
• Festivals: Work Smarter

Visit the BAFA Website Homepage to secure your place now at the best rates

BAFA 2010: Take away more than you thought, more than you brought!

Conference Programme:

Wednesday 3 November

Starting at 4pm with a welcome ‘tea party’ reception at a Brighton Photo Biennial 2010 venue, this is a chance to meet up with friends from a year ago – and get introduced to new ones!

As well as our hosts, three festivals will be happening whilst we are in Brighton: Brighton Photo Biennial 2010, Brighton Photo Fringe Festival and the Brighton Early Music Festival and all will be part of the programme.

Following the welcome reception, there will be options to attend various live festival events, before we attend to the Brighton Fringe Festival Launch:

Brighton Fringe would like to invite all BAFA delegates to its registration launch party on November 3 during the first evening of the conference: there will be drinks, nibbles, and entertainment from top Fringe acts.
 
Brighton Fringe is the largest open access arts festival in England. Fringe 2010 saw 665 events in 200 venues across the city. It featured artists like Edward Bond, Neil Bartlett and the Cholmondeleys and Featherstonehaughs as well as new drama from emerging companies, including Open Door Enter’s promenade version of The Secret Garden (**** The Independent). The Fringe often acts as a springboard to the main festival, with award-winning acts like La Clique, Nofit State Circus (Tabu), Joe Bone (Bane 1 and 2) and Prodigal Theatre moving from Fringe productions to the Festival programme. It’s the place to catch the very best new acts on their way up.

Come and join us on the night to find out more: www.brightonfestivalfringe.org.uk

The evening will be rounded off with late supper at Jamie’s Italian

Thursday 4 November

·       Festivals: Stay Connected

·       Festivals: Work Smarter

Concentrated bursts of performance and live festival case studies will underscore probing keynote sessions with Roger Wright, BBC 3 Controller and Director of the BBC Proms and Joanna MacGregor, Artistic Director, Bath International and Ignite Festivals. Practical workshops on Festival Hubs, Tourism, Sustainability, Digital Marketing and Volunteers will focus on money saving initiatives and together with plenty of time for networking the day concludes with Ruth Mackenzie, Director of the Cultural Olympiad.

In the evening the Conference Party overlooking Brighton Pier will include the presentation of the BAFA Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Arts Festivals.

Friday 5 November

·       Festivals: Mean Business

Peter Florence, Director of the Hay Festivals in Wales, Colombia, Spain, Lebanon, Mexico, India, Kenya, and the Maldives launches a day that includes further workshops on Governance, Research, the Economy and Fundraising highlighted with yet more performance and festival case studies. The UK’s inaugural City of Culture project will be investigated as well as Commissioning and Programming Premiers and the revelations of New Politics.

The afternoon will focus on Brighton:City of Festivals – with the highlight being ‘behind the scenes’ site visits.

The three days end with a Round-Up Reception and – if you dare - a race to Lewes for the Lewes Bonfire Society 5 November extravaganza!

 Peter Florence confirmed as a speaker for 2010 BAFA Annual Conference