Robyn Archer opens Atelier LJUBLJANA 2012: “We are all participants“

On Sunday, 14 October 2012 in Ljubljana, internationally renowned Australian festival director Robyn Archer gave an inspiring keynote to open the 5th Atelier for Young Festival Managers. At the Ljubljana Castle, 32 enthusiastic participants from 21 countries were welcomed to the Atelier LJUBLJANA 2012. With her address, Robyn set the tone for the exchanges to happen during the 7-day training programme. Robyn Archer is a singer, writer, artistic director and public advocate of the arts. She is currently Creative Director of the Centenary of Canberra (2013), and Artistic Director of The Light in Winter, Melbourne. Robyn joined the team of presenters of the Atelier for Young Festival Managers in Varna (2009), Singapore (May 2011), Izmir (October 2011), and now, for the fourth time, in Ljubljana. Furthermore, Robyn wrote for EFA BOOKS 5 “Inside/Insight Festivals. 9 Festival Directors – 9 Stories” to be launched on 18 October at the Atelier LJUBLJANA in a press conference. Robyn introduced the participants to the unique character of the Atelier, its mission and ambition, its benefits and legacy, its impact on participants and presenters alike: “As mentors and presenters I know we will get at least as much out of the participants as they may get out of us in the coming week. It should be understood at the outset that there are very few differences between us as mentors and you as participants, except perhaps in terms of experience. We are all participants in the Atelier.” She reminded that the Atelier is in fact much more than a training programme of 7 days: “This idea of legacy is important – that a festival is not only an intense and immersive experience for a short time, but that the seeds that it plants continue to flourish and grow. This is manifest in the Atelier, the intention of which is legacy: it is a hothouse for the exchange of ideas which we all hope will gain strength during the Atelier and way beyond. With a rigorous and intentionally compressed timeframe, the Atelier allows hungry participants from a wide range of cultures and contexts, to feed from a feast of festival experience and expertise from across the world.” Furthermore, Robyn discussed the importance of festivals in today’s world and the responsibility this implies for artistic directors. Speaking about challenges, artistic and financial ones, amongst others, she elaborated on questions such as: Can we afford to divorce festivals from the human and social context, whether local, national or international, of our times? Do we trust that artists, given a free rein and our support, will naturally come up with a wide range of subject matter that stretches from fun to critically important? Does it depend on which artists we decide to invite and to support? In a time when most places are subject to economic restraint, and even crisis in some cases, how are the arts faring in different regions in the world? Related links and documents: • Full keynote speech of Robyn Archer • More about the Opening Ceremony: Atelier News #1: “Welcome, fools, to our world” • More information about Robyn Archer