This post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

On 14 August 2014, a room of festival organisers, arts administrators and creatives gathered at Fringe Central to share their insights into the concept of festivals and the role of festivals in today’s society. Festivals Edinburgh and Creative Carbon Scotland hosted the event, attended to maximum occupancy.

First, we heard from Di Robson, who delivered fantastic provocations from her extensive global experience organising festivals. For Di, festivals act to re-enchant audiences with the role of place in our lives. One of many significant points from her experience includes her involvement with Mayfest– a theatre, music, dance, and visual arts festival in Glasgow that celebrated “the vast and glorious cultural riches of Glasgow.” Di asserted that Glasgow’s title of the European Capital of Culture in 1990 changed the city, increasing the relevance of Mayfest and engendering the creative energy emanating from the city today.

Moving onto a strand of much more specific social and economic regeneration in her work, Di spoke of the organisation process of the Jaipur Heritage International Festival in Rajasthan. Many artisans’ livelihoods had recently dried up in the area; the festival helped in making their crafts more relevant to the 21^st century. The pleasure for Di came in “watching something so raw and unstructured begin to take shape and have social and economic impact.”

In planning a festival, Di believes it is really important to think clearly through your intentions and implementation. Festivals provide an opportunity for dialogue and community expression, drawing links between divided communities, and often enhancing lives through programming. Di reminded us that when working within the creative sector, we cannot deny art’s ability to “make us look up for a minute” on a social, environmental and creative level.

An important point made by Di was that “we need to preserve resources, not only natural but personal and artistic.” As is often the case for short-lived festivals, one-off festival productions don’t always contribute to a longer lifespan for many projects. This cycle of quick production and short-lived performance doesn’t necessarily benefit creative communities, or promote ideas of fundamental sustainability within the arts. (Temporality versus longevity is a topic we also discussed at our Glasgow Green Tease in July 2014, more reading available here)

After hearing from Di, the conversation opened up to audience participants. The energy in the room brought many profound ideas and questions into discussion. A question that arose was- “Are festivals a function of the society in which they operate?”  It was mentioned that when starting the organisation of a festival, the foundations and reason for the event are pertinent. Building from the grassroots up helps establish the local community’s presence within the festival and vice versa.

We heard an inspiring story from Ameena Saiyid OBE about the Pakistani Children’s Literature Festival. The festival, hosted in a location between two communities that have been historically divided, brought children together who wouldn’t have otherwise met. Children played together, as if they were completely unaware of the significance in this act of unity. The festival proved that there are ways to engender social change through the youngest generations, building social acceptance and cooperation for the future.

The discussion turned back to the local context of Edinburgh, of which the point was made that the Edinburgh Festival Fringe began as a very local festival and has since evolved to a major festival with international reach. A key reason for this success lies within the governing structure of the Edinburgh Festivals; through this structure the festivals gain a lot of attention and can be driven towards more progressive goals. In this way, festivals are quite similar to a business in the need for structure and clear objectives. However, as asserted by Marina Salandy-Brown, from the Bocas Literature Festival, “the success of festivals depends on our business acumen, but there’s a danger in there.” Often we can become the victims of our own success; upon becoming widely successful, a festival can lose the ideas and aspirations on which it was founded. The solution to this dilemma lies in balancing social and environmental responsibility with the business and financial aspects.

Bringing in one of the original guiding questions of the event, the group was asked- “What is arts’ role in a changing climate?” Callum Madge from Lung Ha’s Theatre Company explained, “you engage people who aren’t necessarily interested in the subject through artistic means” and that art is a way to mobilise thinking, specifically in regards to environmental sustainability.

The emergent and temporal nature of festivals brought a stimulating perspective to the dialogue. This temporality has proven to be a means for overcoming censorship in countries that may have strict laws regulating the arts and expression through the arts. The point was made that in these countries the only way that people can learn, understand and accept the truth is through festivals. Temporality also lends itself to the experimental nature of work produced and showcased at festivals. Tanja Beer, set and costume designer, mentioned the support she’s received from festivals to try new ideas, including a completely edible and biodegradable set. Tanja’s work  is about celebrating sustainability, changing attitudes that green works and the raising of awareness is “boring” or negative. Tanja has found that people are desperate for this type of celebration; many communities have adapted temporary festival projects into more permanent fixtures within their locality.

The lively discussion at “Can Festivals Change the World?” proved the interest and passion for creating events that operate on levels of social, economic and environmental sustainability. Hearing from such an internationally diverse audience brought many perspectives into the conversation, allowing ideas to be shared between people who otherwise would not have been able engage in this knowledge exchange. Di Robson concluded the session, inspiring those in attendance to embrace the freedom of their dreams and visions. “Vision-space is unregulated. We can dream and make these things a reality, if not for the world, for our worlds.”

The post #GreenFests highlights: Can Festivals Change the World? with Di Robson appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

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Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

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This post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

Gilded Balloon has emerged as one of the most popular venues in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. For this reason, amongst many others, we feel quite lucky to have the venue as part of the Green Arts Initiative. Creative Carbon Scotland recently heard from Gilded Balloon regarding their thoughts on sustainability.

CCS: What is your most recent action related to sustainable operations or programming?

GB: This year we have converted two of our venues to 100% LED lighting. We have also kicked off a new sustainable build program where we are replacing worn out building materials with more durable materials that have a longer life span.  Part of this program includes making wall units which have a “tool free” build causing less damage to the building materials over time and elongating their life span.

We have also begun a collaboration with our landlord EUSA to expand their year round recycling program through the festival.

CCS: What have you most enjoyed about being a member of the Green Arts Initiative?

GB: We love to have a collaborative group working towards carbon responsible goals.  It’s a great place to find new ideas that we can implement throughout our organization.

CCS: What are you most eager about for the 2014 summer festivals season?

GB: We are very excited to discover our energy savings come the end of the festival fringe, compared to last year.

CCS: Do you have a top tip for new GAI members?

GB: Just get stuck in!  Any first step will do, and it always leads to the second!

Image courtesy Steve Ullathorne and the Gilded Balloon. For the Gilded Balloon Fringe programme, please visit their website.

The post Green Arts Initiative Spotlight: Gilded Balloon appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

———-

Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

Powered by WPeMatico

This post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

As the ‘Fringe of the Fringe’, Forest Fringe Festival, came to a close on August 17th, the activist performance group intermingled music with a ‘sermon’ on reduced consumerism, pro-environmental behaviour and the plight of the threatened honey bee population.

‘Deforestation plus poisoned pollination/ time greedy escalation equals planet devastation’

Reverend Billy, as the Elvis-comparable, evangelistic preacher, leads the audience-congregation within the affirmative traditions of revival meetings, and frequently throughout the audience participated when desired, with the religiously-themed commitments of ‘amen’, ‘awoman’ and ‘praise-bee’. In appropriating this religious style to communicate issues of sustainability, Reverend Billy appeals for the faith and commitment associated with traditional preaching, and mobilises a community: “the Church of Stop Shopping”, regardless of alternative religious beliefs. Programmes are referred to as the ‘Order of Service’ and feature ‘sermons’ on affecting the capitalist system.

Although the Forest Fringe performance displayed a temporarily reduced choir from the New York-based 50-strong grouping, the well-established collective showcased a variety of songs, written by the members, some of which originated for the Occupy movements of 2012. This activist sentiment rings clear throughout the performance, although the focus is shifted to the protection of the honey bee population: natural pollinators which support agriculture and biodiversity. The audience ‘learnt the truth’ about the unique behavioural habits of honeybees and their place in food chain. In the style of the choir too, each element of the environmentalist call-to-action was characterised in Christian doctrine: Monsanto, the agribusiness corporation much-criticised for its pesticide policies was demonised as the ‘Devil’, and blamed for the demise of the bee species.

Most remarkable about this production was the sheer enthusiasm: the energy and passion of the performers were at times almost unbelievable, and this was echoed by the audience, who drove a spontaneous encore and a standing ovation. Fuelled by such revival meetings, the congregation of Reverend Billy will inevitably keep on growing.

Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir performed “Honeybeelujah!” as part of the Forest Fringe 16 & 17 August 2014 at Out of the Blue Drill Hall, a Green Arts Venue. More information about the performance can be found here.

The post #GreenFests Highlights: Honey-bee-lujah! appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

———-

Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

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This post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

Creative Carbon Scotland’s blogger-in-residence Allison Palenske shares highlights from the Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Practice Award nominated production My Luxurious 50 Square Feet Life.

The availability and affordability of housing is a common burden of urban-dwellers internationally. In globalised cities such as London, New York and Tokyo, it seems that prices rise as square footage decreases. The case of these cities, however, pales in comparison to the current situation in Hong Kong. My Luxurious 50 Square Feet Life, an Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Just Festival production by Cinematic Theatre group, addresses this issue in their poignant and multi-faceted exploration of Hong Kong’s subdivided micro-sized housing units.

The audience’s initial interaction with the performance begins with a self-guided orientation of the performance space; the floor plan of fifty square feet is drawn on the stage. Seating was not provided and audience members were essentially occupying the same space as the performers. My own preconception was that fifty square feet is quite small for one person. It was later clarified that these small units are subdivided amongst families or individuals, often four people sharing the space; the production should be titled “Our Luxurious 50 Square Feet Life,” to refer to the numerous occupants in these spaces.

What begins as a charming, but subtly melancholy, storytelling of an elderly woman’s lifelong struggle to maintain enough money for rent quickly turns into a chilling provocation of what was described as a human rights violation. The production jumped between many different scripts, all of which addressed the housing issue from a different perspective.

The latter half of the performance demonstrated a more artistically inventive angle; audio and video became increasingly immersive. A highlight of the performance was the technique of filming the live performance from a bird’s eye perspective, with the actors using the ground plane as one would use a vertically aligned set. Audience members could watch the scene unfold on a projection screen, while also referencing the perspective of the projection with the realities of how it was being filmed within the same space. Though difficult to explain (and perhaps further explanation of this technique would discount the artistic quality) the flattening of the set to the ground plane only seemed to enhance the utter impossibility of living in such a small space. Characters demonstrated the physical, mental and emotional impossibilities of sharing the space amongst a four-person family.

The shifting perspectives of the performance all contributed to a sense of disparity and social injustice. Though the problem seems nearly impossible to solve, My Luxurious 50 Square Feet Life certainly makes an example of the poor quality of life engendered by thoughtless development.

Image: Cinematic Theatre

The post #GreenFests highlights: My Luxurious 50 Square Feet Life appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

———-

Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

Powered by WPeMatico

This post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

Creative Carbon Scotland’s blogger-in-residence Allison Palenske summarises highlights from Robert Llewellyn’s 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Production Award contender- “Electric Cars are Rubbish. Aren’t They?”, as well as a visit to Eco Drama’s “Magic Van” at Summerhall.

Robert Llewellyn, actor, comedian and writer well known to some for his role as Kryten in the British sitcom Red Dwarf, presented his latest foray (“Electric Cars are Rubbish. Aren’t They?“) to a captive audience at Assembly Rooms this past Thursday.

The message at the core of Llewellyn’s talk was the idea that it is perfectly possible to run the British Isles on renewable energy, despite sceptics’ reservations about the capacities of renewable energy to provide enough power to the grid. Llewellyn elucidated his initial involvement with automotive alternatives to the traditional combustion engine, bringing the inception of his personal involvement to a specific moment on Sunset Boulevard, in Los Angeles, when he first realised he was in the passenger seat of a hybrid automobile. Not knowing much about the technology, Llewellyn was compelled to find out more.

What exactly had happened in Los Angeles that had prompted engineers to create the hybrid engine? Llewellyn noted chronic air pollution had been found to be increasing the incidence of asthma and lung disease among Californians. Thus, the government decided to pass legislation to combat this issue.

After speaking through the recent history of the electric vehicle, Llewellyn addressed the following common misconceptions about electric cars-

The energy put into electric vehicles comes from coal, that’s not sustainable.

While it is true in the UK that some energy does come from the burning of coal, there is also an increasing amount of nuclear, wind and solar energies accounting for electricity production in the UK. Electric cars are “fuel agnostic” in that it doesn’t actually matter how the electricity is being produced, they run the same regardless.

The electric vehicle has limited range, you will get stranded on the side of a motorway.

While range anxiety is certainly a feeling all new electric car owners experience early in their converting, Llewellyn asserted the feeling soon passes. With an increased availability of charging points, and an impressive mileage range, electric cars are improving daily in their viability.

Electric vehicles are a “silent menace” and dangerous for cyclists, pedestrians and other drivers.

Llewellyn noted that this fallacy assumes that the drivers of electric cars have a misanthropic mission to diminish the world’s population, one pedestrian at a time. This is, obviously, not true. He did share an amusing anecdote of the reaction horse’s have to the car, though we can imagine this is really only a common occurrence in rural towns such as the one where Llewellyn resides.

There’s no charging infrastructure, I can’t take my electric vehicle for long trips.

This may have been a problem many years ago, but with over 6,000 charging points available in the UK this is simply not the case anymore. Next Green Car offers a helpful map to locate the nearest charging points.

Tesla Model S outside Assembly Rooms

To accompany his talk, Llewellyn parked a Tesla Model S in front of Assembly Rooms, a perfect example of an electric car for those who do not want to compromise style or luxury.

In all, Llewellyn made a convincing argument for the electric vehicle, but did acknowledge that is a new technology, anticipating the industry to grow exponentially in the years to come. However, we can’t ignore other alternatives to the traditional petrol-burning automobile.

On Saturday we visited Summerhall to speak with Eco Drama, another one of the contenders for the Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Practice Award for their production The Worm- An Underground Adventure. Aside from the theatre company’s commitment to communicating green themes to a young audience, they also travel sustainably. Eco Drama owns and operates a bio diesel van, called “The Magic Van”, that helps transport the company’s sets and production materials.

The Magic Van has been in use for roughly five years, and runs on oil reclaimed from Indian and Chinese takeaways. Emily Reid, Creative Director of Eco Drama, explained that while it is often assumed the oil being pumped into the van is from chippie shops, oil from Indian and Chinese takeaways is easier to filter and better for the van. Bio diesel vehicles have 85% lower carbon emissions than a traditional diesel run vehicle, and by using a local supplier (Apple Fuels) Eco Drama has been able to participate and expand a niche market. The company’s not run into many problems with the vehicle, despite their extensive touring throughout Scotland. Reid shared that the company is particularly interested in using reclaimed bio diesel fuel, as the used cooking oil would have gone to waste otherwise. Reclaimed bio diesel doesn’t carry the same implications as manufactured bio diesels such as ethanol made from corn, as it is a previously unused by-product of an existing consumption process that is now being saved from going to waste.

Whether you chose to run on electricity or reclaimed bio diesel, there are a number of solutions to the dilemma of the modern-day automobile, offering touring companies and individuals new alternatives to decrease their carbon impact when travelling is not optional.

(Important to note- The Magic Van has a distinct aroma when running, though we didn’t notice any drastic immediate increase in our cravings for Chinese)

Electric Cars are Rubbish. Aren’t They? was a one-off event at Assembly Rooms on 7 August 2014. More information about the event can be found here.

What are your thoughts on electric vehicles and bio diesel? We’d love to hear your thoughts on Twitter @CCScotland using #GreenFests.

The post #GreenFests: Behind the Wheel appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

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Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

Powered by WPeMatico

This post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

This Thursday, 14 August, a group of festival organisers, academics, participants, artists and admirers will gather at Fringe Central to discuss the various reactions and interactions between politics, the environment and art. With festivals becoming a dominant portion of the cultural sector (music festivals gaining particular attention from media in recent years), it is vital to integrate the festival phenomenon into explorations of cultural value, identity and societal trends.

The “Can Festivals Change the World?” seminar, hosted by Creative Carbon Scotland and Festivals Edinburgh, brings this critical discussion to the exceedingly relevant context of the Edinburgh Festivals. The event is held quite literally at the centre of the festivals, as the event is scheduled for the middle of the August festival month and held at Fringe Central, a venue that is in the heart of the festival activity.

Edinburgh is a city that increases drastically in size during the month of August, with production companies, spectators and cultural sector movers-and-shakers populating Scotland’s capital city. With such a dramatic and fleeting festival culture in the city, certain impacts and benefits must be monitored so as to accumulate a better understanding of the impact of festivals. Thursday’s discussion will reach beyond material impacts, however, drawing attention to impacts at a larger scale of influence.

Di Robson will be speaking at the event, drawing on her experiences on the Scottish and international festivals circuit. One of her most noteworthy projects is the Exhibition Road Show festival as part of the London 2012 Olympics. The Exhibition Road Show, held from 28 July to 5 August 2012, was a street festival that included multiple visual arts commissions, an extensive musical programme, many dance and acrobatics productions, literature readings and science exhibitions and talks. Such an extensive programme covered the many British contributions to society across cultural and scientific sectors alike.

The event will also offer the chance for a discussion amongst attendees concerning the potential roles of the arts sector in affecting the world around us. Guiding provocations for the event include the following questions-

• What is art’s role in a changing climate?
• How can artists be part of changing the world for the better?
• What can festivals do for sustainability?

Discussion points and highlights from the event will be published as part of #GreenFests, so be sure to check back afterwards to read our conclusions. Feel free to post your own thoughts via Twitter @CCScotland using #GreenFests.

The post Upcoming Event: Can Festivals Change the World? with Di Robson appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

———-

Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

Powered by WPeMatico