A theory must be general and valid for anybody. Yona Friedman
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  • The urban impact of artistic festivals

    Festivalcity_Rotterdam, the urban strategy on the symbiotic collaboration between festivals and urban development, was presented at the Research Workshop in Helsinki of the European Festival Research Project. The central theme of the workshop was the urban impact of artistic festivals.

     

     

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    In the short presentation of Festivalcity_Rotterdam, David Dooghe focussed on the symbiotic cooperation between the festivals and the city. In this way a festival can be used as a catalyst between the social and the urban structure of a city.

    The report of the workshop, written by Netta Noro:

    David Dooghe introduced an architectural and urban design point-of-view and presented two events as cases from Rotterdam. He argues that cities are in competition with each other. To support their identity, they use slogans as "I love NY" and "I am Amsterdam". Dooghe asks: How do you create the identity for a ‘festival city’? Events as EXPO or the Olympic games create a hub in the city, but do not lift the urban and cultural growth on the grass-root level, or in the long run. Still, there is a tradition of good co-operation of festivals with their city. Changes in a city affect the festivals as well. Festivals attract middle class to live in the city and a typical festival goer is a middle-aged person presenting middle-class interests and taste.


    Case 1: Summer Carnival in Rotterdam, a little brother of the Carnival in Rio. It holds a calendar of the community with its temporary program & permanent program activities. Dooghe presents an urban plan for the community of the carnival in the Afrikaanderwijk, a quarter in the south of Rotterdam. The plan has two phases, of which there is first an experimental phase, where the festival seeks to create a needed buzz, and another phase where people accept the festival in their yearly repertoire of events to attend.

    Case 2: Rotterdam's major festivals. Dooghe's urban plan for the event venues seeks to shape a multi-purpose space in the city center, which can have multiple usages for urban life in between the yearly events.

    Conclusions: Multi-functional urban planning is the way to help people use the urban space and to create a more functional community. Since festivals are celebrations of the community, Dooghe promotes a symbiotic cooperation between the festivals and the city. Urban planning works as a tool for developing the urban areas into ‘urban theaters’ and therefore more festivalfriendly cities. Creative zones, shaped by urban planners, should be capable of absorbing a variety of events but remain a vibrant public area between them.

    Discussion:
    Dragan Klaic noted that Dooghe is stretching the notion of a festival into any kind of big event. He thinks that as an architect Dooghe is able to see the challenge of space in festival production and spatial organization of sociability. A festival can be used as a catalyst between the social and the urban structures of a city.


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