Imagining the City of Festivals by Amy Alexander Ross Macdonald Flashcards
What is a festival
short term program of branded events, fostering a festive ambience
Festivalization
Instrumentalize festivals for profit
Centralization
Can be either when there is a small group administrator that make the decision (no longer grass-root festival, organized by a large group of people) and also in terms of space it is centralized (Quartier des spectacles), small group of admins who take control over the festivals, or when festivals happening in the same place
Circulation
Can have a flux: from grass root to administrator due to popularity and sponsorship needed (top-down). Can happen to micro-festivals
Presence
being in the moment (FOMO) example igloo fest or live performance
A live performance that gives you a sense of presence, if a festival makes you feel FOMO they successfully made the presence (snowbombing). Makes you feel the sense of why you are going to Montreal. “I go to Montreal for the jazz festival.” Montreal is identified with a city of festivals (Ross Macdonald)
Vernacular
when the festival uses the community to influence the festival and based on the participants – ex food fight (bottom to up) Comicon - with how many people come dressed up
Spectacular
(top to down) the admin makes all the decisions about how will come or what will happened at the festival
Time and Place
if it unique or not, Same artist that is touring all over the world, so same artist but different. → placelessness, not unique anymore, sense of place is not well defined anymore. Just for laughs is a festival that is rooted in Montreal, hasn’t been franchised in different cities.
What Boundaries?
Branded events vs. casual parties/unnamed
Short Term [time] vs, anytime/all the time
Montreal [place] vs. elsewhere/anywhere
Concepts apply vs. no concepts apply
