Introduction

In many regions of the world, art festivals have been and can be used to address complex social, cultural, and political burning issues, and to promote healing and social cohesion. Being a common space shared in communities they are used to create resilience and strengthen solidarity. Art festivals can have the potential to be powerful tools for peacebuilding and conflict transformation. By bringing together diverse communities and providing a platform for creative expression, festivals can facilitate dialogue, build relationships, and promote understanding and reconciliation in communities.

"Festivals can be seen as vital arenas for the public sphere, offering opportunities for dialogue, reflection, and social cohesion, particularly in contexts marked by conflict and division" (Laing & Mair, 2015). 

In the same time the organisation and implementation of festivals can be put in danger due to armed conflicts and/or war.  As seen in the COVID 19 pandemic, arts and culture were the first sectors to be closed down, confronted with minimized budgets. Festivals are often subject to short-term funding that can easily withdrawn, leaving festival makers without necessary means consistency and continuation. Furthermore, festivals that are support by a variety of external financial resources are never independent of third-party interests which makes them prone to attempts of taking sides in conflicts and to defend or discredit certain positions. This vulnerability can have a significant impact on the content and organizational structure of a festival and worse lead to further division within communities or exacerbation of the conflict.  

The successful planning and implementation of a festival is also based on the freedom of mobility of stakeholders which is often not given in case of armed conflicts or war, leaving affected people displaced - as a further consequence making festival organisation very vulnerable and organisers often forced to reschedule, suspend, or cancel. Just like a festival can have a positive impact on peace and social cohesion, a festival as a public live gathering equally bears the risk of doing harm. All planning as festival makers must therefore be flexible and adaptable enough to respond quickly and effectively as new, or previously unidentified, risks and opportunities emerge.  

This Body of Knowledge contains the wisdom of the community of The Festival Academy. Conceived as an unconventional toolkit, this container of stories provides insights into the work of our community under difficult conditions. The main purpose is to share stories for impact and solidarity. 

The toolkit also aims to share resources and tools. The gathered material stems from our capacity building trainings and conversations that came out of them. We hope to provide consolation for those who are going through difficult conflict/war situations, give visibility to those who are not in the centre of global attention, and last but not least guidance for individuals and organizations who are interested in using art festivals as a means of promoting peace and transforming conflicts.

The toolkit is designed for practitioners, artists, organizers, and community leaders who want to learn about the power of art to build bridges between diverse communities, promote social justice, and foster peace and the resilience that art festivals can boost in contested places. But we also address challenges of festival planning within conflict situations and how festival makers worldwide explore creative ways to deal with them.  

"Festivals serve as a microcosm of society, reflecting and shaping the cultural, social, and political dynamics within a community. They have the potential to act as catalysts for social change, providing a unique platform for dialogue, reflection, and transformation" (Quinn, 2005).