ABSTRACT

Festivals and events form a substantial part of contemporary culture (Jordan 2016; Richards 2015; Yeoman, Robertson, McMahon-Beattie, Backer & Smith 2015). In light of the temporary and fleeting nature of consumption culture, festivals are a means of producing spectacular and immersive art (Jordan 2016) and of reframing consumption as a social activity (Négrier 2015). Festivals have become a popular means for individuals to consume and to experience culture, wherein the emphasis is placed on holistic experiences and the surrounding community and lifestyle (Bennett, Taylor & Woodward 2014; Holbrook & Hirschman 1982; Pine & Gilmore 1999). As a result of this rapidly growing ‘festivalisation’ of culture, festivals currently serve to produce culture and function as platforms of cultural production, distribution and consumption to a greater extent than ever before (Bennett et al. 2014; Négrier 2015; Richards 2015). In this discourse, festivals are not merely traditional practices but also extend to those sponsored by arts and cultural institutions. This occurs, for example, when arts organisations package and publicise their programmes in the form of festivals as an example of ‘festival fever’ (Négrier, Bonet & Guérin 2013); having said that, festivals have both directly and indirectly come to play a multifaceted role in contemporary society through their social, cultural and economic contributions (Getz 2012a; Luonila 2016a; Richards 2015).