Past Arts Festivals

The original idea of Arts Festivals seems to have been inter-university cultural competition (up till five years ago it was part of Winter Tournament). Each university sent a play or two, bridge teams, chess teams, debating teams, and festival-goers were given rock concerts, folk concerts, debates, forums, art and photo exhibitions, films, dances and the like to choose from. The thing was mainly a large number of small groups putting on presentations for a vast non-participant audience — in short, a gargantuan ready-cooked feast spoon-fed to you. Though "Participation!!" was often the catch word in the past, there was in fact little; more than enough entertainment and spectacle was laid on, leaving festival-goers small opportunity to actually participate in anything.

There was a sharp division between performers, who were often subsidised by their home university, and mere spectators, who paid their way entirely. Performers might see little of the rest of the Arts Festival: for instance, someone involved in drama production might spend two days moving in and rehearsing, two days playing, and then find he didn't have much of the week left.

Arts Festival grew steadily larger and more awkward; not only from the point of view of the festival-goer who might have to travel miles between one venue and the next, but also from the organisers' point of view. The whole enterprise was becoming too vast, cumbersome and costly, and registration fees were consequently force dup, partly because of inflation, partly because more activities existed to be subsidised.

The multitude of activities and the distance between venues meant that there was far too much for one person to see even what he wanted to see. And here lies the principle of the Arts Festival as opposed to a festival of a particular art: not only to enable communication and exchange of ideas in each field, but also to broaden people's cultural horizons, and promote inter change and cross-fertilisation between the different arts. At Auckland in 1972, for example, a drama freak could spend almost all of his time at plays, to the exclusion of the rest of the Festival. Thus people remained with their own narrow cliques and interests, and the unity and intercommunication of the festival was lost.

What now, people?

Arts Festival 1973

The concept of Arts Festival 1973 is summed up in its name — Cumtogetha The aim is for a total cultural experience through the lifestyle of the participants — the festival is those who attend. This does not mean that festival-goers will simply be left alone in Christchurch. But, as in the past, what people do will be largely up to them, with the difference that, instead of just sitting watching and listening, as much as possible people will be encouraged to create and organise their own activities, with venues, materials and communication systems supplied. Where there was a fine arts exhibition, there will be a workshop. Where there was an organised rock concert, equipment will be provided so that a concert can take place. Where there was a dance group contracted to perform on so many occasions, they will be hired to mingle and encourage everyone to dance.

Cumtogetha will be structured so as to provide the maximum opportunity for people to formulate their own festival. The way to achieve this is to bring people together in groups, for only when people can identify with a group can they relate outside themselves (this is the essence of Gemeinschaft). Thus people will relate to a principal group, Cumtogetha itself, and then to groups within the framework of Cumtogetha, e.g. a media workshop, an encounter group, a rock concert, etc. In short, fuel, fire, utensils, and uncooked food will be provided, and the rest is up to you.

Cumtogetha will be held togetha by the use of badges as registration cards, Kurrency (to buy liquor, food, posters, arts and crafts, and other things), and the concentration of the festival in a circle a mile across, so that all venues will be within easy walking distance of each other and accommodation. Internal communications at Cumtogetha will be triply efficient — a daily newssheet and a radio station, as well as graffiti. Organisation is well underway — planning of domes in Hagley Park, negotiation for electronic equipment, application for a radio licence, and the enticing of the Wizard of Melbourne University to Christchurch.

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If you have any questions, try asking your Cultural Affairs Officer. There will be no detailed, hour-by-hour programme publish'd before Cumtogetha, only a list of highlights and what you'll be able to do here. Cumtogetha is not a festival of divines, but a festival of people participating in activities.