Atelier for Young Festival Managers in Montreal

The Festival Academy based in Brussels hosts 2 or 3 Ateliers for festival managers each year, an opportunity for young festival managers around the world to reflect on festival-making in our contemporary world, to network and to acquire some tools and insights that will help with future curating and management of their festivals.  Since March 2018, I have had the privilege of helping to programme and then facilitate these 7 day events.  The Atelier in Montreal, co-hosted with Festival TransAmerique, brought together 31 festival managers from 18 countries in an intense programme that was stimulating, challenging, emotional and celebratory all at the same time.  The value of having a diversity of voices and experiences in the same room was proven yet again in the rich and deep conversations and debates that took place during the Atelier.