Deadline extended for Atelier in Gwangju 2015: Apply by 16 February

The Festival Academy is delighted to announce that the application deadline has been extended for the Atelier for Young Festival Managers Gwangju 2015 to give more young festival managers the opportunity to apply. Young festival managers from all over the world are invited to apply until 16 February 2015. The Atelier will take place from 31 September to 6 September 2015 in Gwangju, South Korea, in collaboration with the Chonnam National University and the Asian Arts Theatre (Asian Culture Complex).

Share your experiences on the essence of art festivals

The Atelier for Young Festival Managers is an intense and rigorous 7-day training platform addressed at emerging artistic festival directors or those who have ambitions to become involved in programming or in programming-related departments within a festival. It is all about sharing experiences and passing on knowledge to a next generation of festival makers: knowledge about programming a festival, while focusing on the very essence of art festivals – the arts and the artist. It is guided by the motto “The true role of a festival is to help artists to dare, to engage in new projects,” borrowed from Bernard Faivre d’Arcier, longstanding Director of the Avignon Festival and President of the Lyon Biennial (France).

Explore festival issues in various formats

45 young festival managers from all over the world will be selected to participate in the Atelier. Around 10 distinguished festival directors, renowned festival pioneers, will each attend for at least two full days and guide 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 coproduction, internationalisation, networking, renewal and sustainability will be explored. First presenters will be announced soon. Have a look at the list of presenters of the previous Ateliers.

Join a unique new network

264 Alumni from 60 countries emerged from seven Ateliers for Young Festival Managers since 2006 in Goerlitz, Varna, Singapore, Izmir, Ljubljana, Edinburgh and Poznan. Participants of the Gwangju edition will become part of this unique global network of young festival makers which will further increase after the upcoming Atelier in Beirut (March 2015).

How to apply

The application form must be submitted by 16 February 2015. All information on the Atelier, selection criteria, application procedure and application form can be found on the Atelier website.

Get to know Gwangju, Chonnam National University, Asian Culture Complex and Asian Arts Theatre

Gwangju Metropolitan City is one of the six largest cities in Korea, with a population of 1.4 million. Gwangju is rich in culture and art, as shown by its cultural initiatives such as Hub City of Asian Culture project and Gwangju Biennale which make the city one of the most vibrant and colourful places in the country.

Chonnam National University (CNU), located in Gwangju Metropolitan City, is one of the most prestigious national universities in Korea. CNU has been playing a pivotal role in strengthening justice and human rights in Korean history, since its establishment in 1952. Consisting of 59 academic departments in 19 colleges and 11 graduate programs, CNU maintains international ties with 300 universities in 42 countries. The Graduate School of Culture (GSC), which was opened in March 2006, is Korea’s first and only graduate school specializing in culture. GSC currently provides three master’s programs including “Culture and Arts Planning,” “Culture Management and Tourism” and “Media Art and Technology". Having been selected for the Korean government's Brain Korea 21 plus project (2013-2020), GSC pursues its vision of a “world-class graduate school specializing in education and research in the field of cultural convergence and training creative and glocal culture professionals.”

Asian Culture Complex, a government-funded establishment housed in the heart of Gwangju, is doubtless the most ambitious and momentous art project in Korean history in terms of budget, artistic vision and spatial scale. Based in this newly constructed complex, Asian Arts Theatre questions, supports, and creates contemporary performing arts in Asia. The theatre will produce, co-produce, invite and promote art works from Asia as well as the rest of the world. It aspires to become a hub for the production, presentation, discussion and international distribution of the most cutting-edge works in the context of the international performing arts scene. In September 2015, the theatre opens with a three week opening festival which will present almost 30 commissioned, co-produced and invited works, with main emphasis on Asian artists

In case of questions please contact atelier@efa.aef.eu or call +32 2 644 48 00.