“Community was inherent in the birth of the festival,” says Andrew Comben, chief executive of Brighton Festival. “If you want to celebrate the place, then you need to be working alongside the communities that inhabit it. The whole essence of making art is building relationships with people.”
This year’s guest director is the acclaimed children’s author, screenwriter and writer of the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony, Frank Cottrell-Boyce. His aim to infuse this year’s event with hope, wonder, magic and fun is also rooted in the festival’s community-focused ethos. “Frank is optimism on a stick,” laughs Comben. “He’s just the most fantastic, generous mind and wonderful communicator. We felt it was so needed to have that hopeful frame around the festival this year.”
While many festivals parachute in big names who come and go, the Brighton Festival team has made it a core mission to integrate and embed the community, and its local talent, into the programme itself. “We celebrate the opportunity to bring international artists to the city and to learn from that cross-cultural exchange,” says Comben. “But in the same way, we also champion work that is made locally, often by community participants.”
The whole essence of making art is building relationships with people
Here are five ways in which the community really does lie at the very heart of this year’s Brighton Festival.
Brighton Festival takes place from 4-26 May. To find out more, visit brightonfestival.org
Main image: Jamie MacMillan