The Edinburgh Festivals: an endless experiment | Faith Liddell | TEDxUniversityofEdinburgh
The Edinburgh festivals organization argues that grappling with complexity—*"swilling in it with optimistic expectation"*—is necessary because this struggle ultimately condenses into solid foundations for growth. This is evidenced by the city's history, where unintended developments like the Fringe and the International Film Festival emerged from initial, separate cultural efforts. The organization’s operational process for handling this complexity is rigorous, requiring decisions by consensus and involving extensive prototyping and auditing over extended periods.
## Speakers & Context
- Unnamed speaker representing Festivals Edinburgh.
- Discusses the organizational effort over the last eight years to navigate and grow within the complexity of multiple major festivals in Edinburgh.
- Characterizes the process as an *"endless experiment on ourselves"* as cultural festivals, organizations, and individuals.
## Theses & Positions
- Swilling in complexity is essential for evolution and refinement, as it leads to the discovery of solid, recognizable foundations.
- The goal of Festivals Edinburgh is to retain Edinburgh's position as the *"world's leading festival city"* through joint strategic development and collaboration.
- The festivals retain *"distinct powerful visions and identities"* and complex ecosystems (artists, producers, funders, etc.) despite collaboration.
- The city’s unique ability to adapt to, and incorporate, festival cultures—*"what happens in edinburgh couldn't happen anywhere else in the world"*—is crucial for its continued vitality.
- The organization operates under the principle that decisions must be reached by **consensus**, meaning any single festival can veto an idea or process.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Complexity:** The necessary state of difficulty, which, when endured, leads to clearer, more substantial ideas or foundations.
- **Ecosystem:** Refers to the interconnected web within each festival, including artists, producers, audiences, funders, and community members.
- **Consensus:** The method of decision-making, where any single festival member has the right to veto a proposal or process.
- **Experimental Process:** The necessary phase involving collaborative working groups, piloting, and prototyping before any idea is finalized.
- **Unintended Consequences:** The natural result of the festival culture's birth and growth, which the city has learned to adapt to.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Collaborative Working:** Creation of groups, such as working groups in marketing and program investment, bringing together representatives from all 12 member festivals.
- **Decision Making:** Decisions are made by consensus, not by majority vote; the veto power ensures thorough exploration.
- **Idea Maturation Cycle:** The process for any new idea involves: rigorous debate $\rightarrow$ creating working groups $\rightarrow$ external auditing/research $\rightarrow$ piloting/prototyping $\rightarrow$ assessing acceptability $\rightarrow$ jettisoning non-viable elements $\rightarrow$ achieving a final, trusted, and achievable state (which takes at least a year).
- **Festival Growth:** Initial efforts were driven by the necessity of cooperation among 12 major festivals to ensure the city's standing.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **1947:** The Edinburgh International Festival was created in the wake of WWII to bring Europe and the world together through culture.
- **Pre-Fringe:** The Festival began as a civic enterprise to bring international culture to the city, but was immediately disrupted by the entry of eight theatre companies, forming the precursor to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
- **Film Integration:** The Edinburgh International Film Festival followed later, introducing film as an art form outside the initial scope.
- **Recent History:** The last eight years have been challenging, demanding increased internal collaboration among the 12 member festivals to survive.
## Named Entities
- **Edinburgh International Festival** — Festival established in 1947 to unite European and global culture post-WWII.
- **Festivals Edinburgh** — The organizing body formed by the directors of the 12 major festivals to lead joint strategic development.
- **The 12 Major Festivals (Members):**
- Edinburgh International Science Festival
- The Imaginate Festival for children and young people
- The Edinburgh International Film Festival
- The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival
- The Edinburgh Art Festival
- The Edinburgh Festival Fringe
- The Edinburgh International Festival
- The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
- Edinburgh International Book Festival
- The Scottish Storytelling Festival
- Edinburgh's Hogmanay
- **Joyce Macmillan** — Mentioned as a cultural commentator who speaks about the story of Edinburgh as a festival city.
## Numbers & Data
- Number of major festivals: **12**.
- Number of artists: **25,000** annually.
- Number of shows: **3,000** annually.
- Historical founding year of the EIF: **1947**.
## Examples & Cases
- **Initial Disruption:** The first International Festival was interrupted by eight uninvited theatre companies, which formed the core of the modern Fringe.
- **Expansion:** The addition of the International Film Festival and subsequent festivals built the current festival landscape.
- **Working Groups:** Established groups for collaborative efforts in marketing and program investment, involving representatives from all 12 festivals, regardless of staff size (two staff vs. thirty staff).
## Tools, Tech & Products
- None mentioned.
## References Cited
- Joyce Macmillan (cultural commentator).
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Adaptation vs. Control:** The tension between maintaining the distinct identity of each festival versus the need for central joint strategic development.
- **Funding:** Stakeholders and funders have become part of the experiment, investing in the organization as a source of research and development.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The tendency to *"swill in complexity"* is inherently difficult and painful.
- The process of defining change is *"sometimes excruciatingly slow."*
- There is an inherent tension between the ambition and competitiveness of the festivals and the collaborative need for consensus.
## Methodology
- **Consensus Building:** Decisions are reached by universal agreement; veto power ensures no single entity is bypassed.
- **Auditing & Research:** Utilizing external, objective perspectives is required to move beyond mere opinion in the process.
- **Prototyping:** Implementing small-scale tests before full-scale adoption.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The primary recommendation is the continuation of this complex, iterative process of collaboration, adaptation, and experimentation to secure Edinburgh's status.
- The organization must manage the difficulty of the process, recognizing that both pain and patience are required to achieve solid outcomes.
## Implications & Consequences
- The development of the festivals has positioned Edinburgh uniquely, making its culture an unparalleled, irreplaceable asset—*"what happens in edinburgh couldn't happen anywhere else in the world."*
- Success depends on the willingness of all stakeholders to invest in and participate in the ongoing *"experiment."*
## Verbatim Moments
- *"We swill in complexity because it helps us to evolve."*
- *"The festivals are the members they're the board of directors they own it."*
- *"The city has welcomed them it's accepted the complexity and in fact the tensions that they represent when they sit here together."*
- *"The story of the birth of edinburgh as a festival city an experiment with unintended consequences is all about the essential unpredictable energy that emerges from boldness."*
- *"We do not make decisions by majority we make them by consensus that means any single festival can veto an idea or a process or a project at any stage."*
- *"I discovered in a design process is called the surviving idea to emerge."*
- *"We're like a research and development function for some of the work that we've done."*
- *"The waiting and the waiting and the waiting for what i discovered in a design process is called the surviving idea to emerge."*
- *"Why not you?"* (This phrase was not in the transcript, but was included in the prompt structure as a placeholder. The speaker's actual concluding sentiment relates to the ongoing process).