New research on festivals in South East Asia: taking a closer look at festival management, financing, development, needs, opportunities and equality in Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore.
Festivals are catalysts for creative, social, and economic development. Whilst playing an important role in driving local and national creative economies, festivals enable inclusive and sustainable growth and play a multi-dimensional role: regenerating places, driving job creation, creating spaces for critical dialogues and for creative and cultural expression.
We commissioned this research to learn more about festivals in South East Asia – their aspirations and development needs – and how they connect internationally.
Key findings
In addition to providing distinct country profiles, the research reports that Festivals:
- Support local communities by encouraging intercultural and intergenerational dialogue and enhancing the quality of place.
- Offer urgency, activism and an impact-facing agenda that is vital for our times.
- Connect heritage to the contemporary, signalling opportunities for the future.
- Present vital platforms for talent development. They provide opportunities for artists and creative practitioners to develop their practice, creative journeys and careers, and to reach and engage audiences.
- Generate cultural narratives and creative content, commissioning and presenting new work from music to fashion, design to film.
- Are important in the formation of creative enterprises and runways for business development across the multiple value chains of the creative economy. Not only do they showcase talent, but they also provide employment and facilitate growth opportunities for all types of creative enterprise, both directly and via their spill-over effects.
- Often provide safe spaces for diverse creative expression, introducing talent from all backgrounds to the creative economy.
- Can be platforms for innovation, drawing on multiple influences, embracing technology and interfacing with audiences. They are at their hearts spaces for experimentation and boundary-crossing practice.
