At BAFA, we work with our members and industry partners to carry out important research into the arts festival sector
Our most recent projects include:
BAFA’s Festivals Mean Business is a UK-wide research project to gather robust data to help us understand the arts festivals landscape, exploring the current challenges and opportunities. The results of the survey will be published in autumn 2024 and will enable us to support arts festivals as they navigate future changes to the sector.
This is the fourth iteration of Festivals Mean Business, and we believe that the data gathered will have a long-term impact on the arts festival industry. We want to understand not only how many people engage with arts festivals across the UK, but the role these festivals play in creating more connected, sustainable and resilient communities.
The research was conducted by BOP Consulting, the UK’s leading cultural research consultancy, and supported by Arts Council England, Arts Council of Wales and Creative Scotland.
BAFA is currently working in partnership with Midlands4Cities and Birmingham City University to offer a Collaborative Doctoral Award, with research undertaken by Naomi Taylor, Creative Director at Chiltern Arts, in Re-imagining the Arts Festival in Times of Crisis.
This research explores themes of community, belonging, language and imagination, and how important these are in the world of festivals and festival teams. Naomi welcomes input from arts festival team members as part of her research.
Being a member of BAFA offers access to the UK’s leading arts festivals, and an invaluable opportunity to build a strong network of professional contacts across the breadth of the festivals sector.
Our members range from volunteer-run organisations to large, well-established festivals, and we also have special memberships available for universities and associate members.
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