British Council India launches festival connections in Bengaluru

- Organizes workshop called ‘Audience development insights for the arts’ for professionals working in cultural festivals sector in Bangalore on 31st August aimed to enhance skills in the Indian festival sector

- The Festival Connections Series is presented in association with Art X Company and Arts and Culture Resources India (ACRI)

Bengaluru, 26 August 2019: In an endeavour to connect people through different forms of arts, British Council is launching Festival Connections, a programme of expertise, knowledge, and networking between India and the UK. Organized under the theme of Festivals for the future, a series of thematic hub events will be organised across India that aim to support the long-term development, economic empowerment, and systemic change in the emerging festivals sector of India.

Under this initiative, a workshop called ‘Audience development insights for the arts’ is being organized in Bengaluru. Join industry experts from India and the UK in a session that delves into best practices for audience development, developing and using audience data, ticketing strategies, and long-term audience development.

Sharing insights will be Penny Mills (Chief Consulting Officer) and Jonathan Goodacre (Senior Consultant, International) at the Audience Agency - UK; Abhishek Madan - Head of Product - Paytm Insider; Babitha George - Partner - Quicksand & Co-founder, Unbox Festival; and Rashmi Dhanwani, Founder - Art X Company.

Interested people could register in the following ways:

When: Saturday, 31 August 2019, 11.00am to 2.00pm

Where: British Council, Prestige Takt 23 Kasturba Cross Road, Bengaluru 560001

RSVP: http://bit.ly/bcbengaluru register here

Entry: Free for everyone, but pre-registration is required

While ideal for professionals working on cultural festivals, either full-time or on a project basis, this session also welcomes agencies, freelance consultants, and professionals offering specialised services to festival teams.

Speakers:

• Penny Mills & Jonathan Goodacre - The Audience Agency, UK

Penny Mills previously worked in strategic marketing roles in London and for festivals in Edinburgh. She is responsible for clients across London and also specialises in audience development planning and evaluation of touring work nationally (indoors and outdoors).

• Abhishek Madan - Head of Product, Paytm Insider

Abhishek has been building and developing ticketing strategies and product features that work for a range of stakeholders. He is armed with data driven insights aggregated from a large pool of events and from consumer behaviour both on-ground and online. At Paytm Insider, he runs the product team, which sits at the confluence of audience, organiser and technology.

• Babitha George - Partner, Quicksand & Co-founder, Unbox Festival

Babitha George is a partner at Quicksand and a co-founder at UnBox, leading on networks and collaborations bringing together efforts around social change, art & culture, thoughtful design and open research. She is also on the Advisory Board of the Victor Papanek Foundation and was featured in the British Council's 'Blurring the Lines' exhibition in London, as one of sixteen people from around the world who are reinventing creative exploration and participation in their respective communities.

• Rashmi Dhanwani - Founder, The Art X Company

Rashmi Dhanwani is the Founder of the Art X Company, a strategic consultancy for the cultural sector focused on strategy, audience development and sector research. She has also been a recipient of the ARThink South Asia Fellowship (2011-12), a participant fellow at ‘The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School and the Weill Music Institute’, a scholarship grantee of the JN Tata Trust and Charles Wallace India Trust, and a 2017 Global Fellow of the International Society for Performing Arts (ISPA), New York.

About Festival Connections:

British Council India’s Festival Connections series addresses India’s vibrant cultural festival sector. As a part of the organisation’s activities in the arts, the programme aims to support festival teams through upskilling workshops, peer sharing sessions, and opportunities to connect with the national network of Indian festival managers. From August 2019 to March 2020, six sessions across Mumbai and Bengaluru will explore myriad aspects of the management of a cultural festival through the experience of festival veterans, emerging talent, and creative professionals from the industry.

The Festival Connections Series is presented in association with Art X Company and Arts and Culture Resources India (ACRI). Arts and Culture Resources India (ACRI) a.k.a. Arts and Culture Opportunities, Residencies, Workshops, Jobs in India, is a space for knowledge exchange, information sharing, networking and learning for cultural and creative industry professionals in India. What started as a Facebook group with a long-winded name, for information sharing on professional and funding opportunities in the arts is developing into a comprehensive online resource for the cultural sector in India. ACRI Chapters in different cities provide an offline avenue for culture professionals to connect and upskill in the sector.

Join the ACRI Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Arts.Culture.Resources.India/

Like the Art X Company Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheArtXCompany/

About British Council:

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We work with over 100 countries in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Last year we reached over 80 million people directly and 791 million people overall including online, broadcasts and publications. We make a positive contribution to the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust. Founded in 1934 we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. We receive 15 per cent core funding grant from the UK government. www.britishcouncil.in