Atelier News #6: To the roots of civilizations

On Saturday, 29 October, the Atelier for Young Festival Managers investigated further the challenges of being an artistic director, before visiting the Ancient City of Ephesus, a cradle of civilizations. Various topics were discussed in the morning session between the participants of the Atelier and Jonathan Mills and Robyn Archer. Both answered in detailed questions about the relevance of having a festival in a city, the role of the media, the engagement an artistic director must have with his/her audience, the role and use of arts centres and the challenges of being an artist and an artistic director. “As an artistic director, you have to be politically, socially and environmentally aware, as much as you are artistically aware,” said Jonathan Mills. The visit to Ephesus brought 27 nationalities to admire the beauty of, among others, Ephesus’s Grand Theatre and the Celsus Library. The many photographs the participants took will travel back with them to New Zealand, Uganda, Costa Rica, Singapore and many more. İKSEV, the host of the Atelier, uses these sites as venues for the Izmir International Festival, benefiting from the still perfect acoustic of the 2000 years old Grand Theatre. In the ancient days, more than 20.000 people could attend concerts here at the same time. In more recent years, stars such as Ray Charles, Sting and Nathalie Cole have performed in this breathtaking venue. After visiting the little village of Şirince, the group enjoyed a typical Turkish restaurant and then drove back to Izmir and its 21st century busy traffic. From the roof top bars of the restaurants, the Atelier group had a wonderful view of Izmir and its night lights. For further information please visit the Atelier website or contact EFA at atelier@efa-aef.eu. More photos at the Photo Gallery. Related news: • Atelier News #7: End of the week, new beginning! • Atelier News #5: Journey through the festivals of the world • Atelier News #4: Discussing co-productions and meeting the artist • Atelier News #3: Experienced festival directors disclose their strategies and driving forces • Atelier News #2: Second Atelier day sparking many “aha moments” • Atelier News #1: Inspiring start for the 4th Atelier for Young Festival Managers