14 Jul 2014
Eight New Zealand arts professionals will be attending this year’s Edinburgh Festivals under the Momentum New Zealand programme supported by Creative New Zealand and the British Council.
Initiated in 2013, Momentum New Zealand supports greater artistic collaboration and exchange, between the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Several of the 2013 delegates are now returning to Edinburgh with shows this year.
Playwrights Pip Hall and Philip Braithwaite; practitioners Adrianne Roberts (Show Pony), Rochelle Bright (Bullet Heart Club) and Emma Giesen (Creative Capital Arts Trust); visual arts delegate Robyn Notman (Dunedin Public Art Gallery); and strategic partners Craig Cooper (Christchurch Arts Festival) and Stuart Grant (Capital E) have been selected for Momentum in 2014.
Momentum is an international delegate programme that provides a dynamic platform for key cultural players from across the world to engage and build relationships with the World’s leading festival city, the wider Scottish and UK cultural sectors, and the visiting international community.
Momentum NZ delegates will be introduced to Scottish, United Kingdom and international producers, festival directors and venue managers and supported by Creative Scotland and Festivals Edinburgh to develop their own professional networks via hosted events and individual meetings.
The Edinburgh Festivals are the largest and most acclaimed in the world and Creative New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to boost New Zealand’s involvement, says Creative New Zealand’s Senior Manager, Arts Policy, Capability and International, Cath Cardiff.
“Our arts professionals will experience first-hand how this huge multi-layered event is put together and plan how their work might fit within that. We look forward to working with the sector and the British Council on this initiative and exploring on-going relationships together,” she says.
The inaugural year of the Momentum partnership in 2013 has successfully contributed to a whole season of theatre, dance, Kapa Haka, literature, visual arts and music in Edinburgh this August – the NZ at Edinburgh 2014 season. www.nzatedinburgh.com.
“With the Commonwealth Games being staged in Glasgow in 2014 at the same time as the Edinburgh Festival, the timing of this new initiative just couldn’t be better,” says Director of Arts, British Council, Graham Sheffield. “We look forward to the development of exciting new work and to greater artistic collaboration between our two countries.”
“Having the Games and the Festivals taking place at the same time is an opportunity for New Zealand to raise awareness of the diversity and richness of our culture and create a lasting impact in Scotland, the UK and internationally,” says Ms Cardiff.
The Edinburgh Festivals each year attract an estimated 25,000 artists, 2000 accredited media, 1000 international producers and an audience of four million. The main Festival season is August, when six of the main Festivals take place.
Momentum is an international delegates’ programme hosted by Edinburgh's 12 major festivals, Creative Scotland and British Council Scotland. The programme runs from 2-30 August 2013, to coincide with the Edinburgh International Festival; Edinburgh Festival Fringe; Edinburgh International Book Festival; Edinburgh Art Festival and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It provides a platform for key arts professionals from around the world to engage and build relationships.
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Sarah Pomeroy | Senior Communications Adviser
Ph 04 498 0725 | Mob 027 677 8070 | media@creativenz.govt.nz
CATEGORIES: Audience development, Capability building, International Latest news and blog
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