The importance of artistic creation for innovative and creative developments

Artistic creativity and innovation play an important role in today’s complex, rapidly changing world. Artistic creativity can help people to understand our contemporary societies and cultures. Artistic creativity can trigger developments on a multitude of levels: it can foster personal development, intercultural competences, economic growth and employment.

Change should be embraced as an opportunity. Arts, culture and festivals are in the unique position to help fostering such an attitude by the means of artistic creation. Artistic creation has intrinsic values as well as means to find new solutions and ways of engaging with societal change.

The arts and cultural sector is one of the most favourable environments for innovation and creativity: the main objective of artists has always been creating new work of arts, thus playing a major role in changing society and leading to new paradigms. Creation and creativity are fundamental elements for the progress of mankind. They are able to bring people together at local and global level and help bridging geographical and cultural distances. Culture is a key tool to integrate the elements of our diverse societies.

What can cultural organisations and associations do?

The European Festivals Association (EFA) is the representative network of arts festivals in Europe and beyond. EFA and its collective and affiliated members, 15 national festivals associations and cultural networks from all over Europe, represent altogether 2500 arts and cultural festivals from about 40 different countries. Embracing common objectives, we focus major efforts on raising awareness of the importance of culture in times of change and challenges.

The cultural and creative sector is a growing sector – we have to make use of it. It is proven that creative forces help fuel innovation in other economic sectors, and that cities with large cultural communities are economically vibrant. Culture drives economic and social development, as well as innovation and cohesion.

Against the background of the latest economic downturn and financial crisis which hit all sectors, the cultural sector has to find the right measures to help surviving this difficult situation. It needs strategic thinking, long-term planning, sustainable projects, advocacy efforts, the building of a strong membership base as well as the support of creative and innovative approaches.

With a clearly defined mission that meets the needs of festivals and our associations’ members at internal level and that promotes arts and cultures as motors of creativity and innovation at a larger level, i.e. the European public, the EFA and its collective and affiliated members are convinced that they can a) survive the crisis and turn the difficulties into an opportunity and b) make a crucial contribution towards helping to overcome the crisis at a broader level.

Joint efforts, efficient communication to everybody involved and demonstration of best practice examples that can serve as innovative and creative approaches also for other sectors than the culture and arts sector are key elements of our mission. We will prioritise and focus our programmes and initiatives on a clearly defined set of objectives and goals, involving a diversity of cultures, audiences and artists and reaching out to as many people as possible.

What role for festivals in this scenario?

The proliferation of festivals all over Europe during the last century - in all kinds of urban and rural contexts – clearly demonstrates how creativity in the arts has brought innovative trends to societies and their economic development. The presence of festivals in economically depressed areas has had revitalizing effects on many local economies. Festivals are the expression of a community and its identity: the creativity of festival managers has brought about major changes in terms of bringing innovation to societies and breathing new economic and social impulse into them. Research has proven that festivals are motors of economy and of cultural innovation, as they are suitable platforms for experimentation and for creating bridges between the creative and technological sectors which too often remain separate.

Festivals play a crucial role in involving audiences in the process of approaching creation and innovation. Individuals who attend festival events are often faced with the challenge of interpreting and understanding works of art which use languages, expressions, concepts and perspectives that are often tightly connected to contemporary history and society. Part of the educational mission of festivals is to open up audiences to artistic, cultural and societal alertness. Fringe events, education schemes and training programmes for young artists and managers, interactive performances, experimentation of arts and technologies and contemporary expression provide professionals, amateurs and the audience with an optimum setting for implementing innovative and successful competences. In fact, festivals play a key role in turning multicultural societies into intercultural environments which enable individuals to actively participate in social and working life.

In short: festivals raise awareness of contemporary issues and questions at stake, they act as researchers, facilitators, mediators, educators, they help developing and questioning one’s own identity and acknowledging and understanding the identity of others, they stimulate exchange and intellectual development.

Aware that the cultural sector is not there for art’s sake alone, in 2009 we have to prove more than ever which important role culture, arts and festivals play in our society of today and demonstrate our capability to make a difference.