Following an open call for applications from city based festivals, Aberdeen Festivals has announced three new members will be joining its ranks for 2016.
A leading cultural driving force in the region, the Aberdeen Festivals group emerged at the start of 2015 and was set up to promote festivals, develop audiences and strengthen the cultural sector in Aberdeen and the North-east.
For its 2016 roster of top festivals the group has now welcomed SPECTRA, Look Again and True North to be part of the 2016 collective.
The three new additions will join the existing portfolio of festivals, including; Aberdeen Jazz Festival, May Festival, Aberdeen International Youth Festival (AIYF), TechFest, North–East Open Studios (NEOS), DanceLive and Sound.
Kicking off Aberdeen’s 2016 calendar of festivals is SPECTRA, known as Aberdeen’s Festival of Light, taking place from February 11 to 14. The next new addition is Look Again Festival, a Visual Art and Design Festival that encourages audiences to ‘Become a tourist in your own city.’ It takes place from April 28 – May 2.
Joining these and taking place in September from 23 - 25 is one of Aberdeen’s newest and most exciting festivals, True North, a singer songwriter festival presented by Aberdeen Performing Arts. True North will be hosted once again in some of Aberdeen’s most iconic music venues as well as some unusual settings for live music performances.
Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski of Robert Gordon University, the lead partner in the Look Again Festival said: ‘Being part of the Aberdeen Festivals group is a very exciting prospect for the university’s Look Again Festival. Our first festival was a resounding success and we look forward to working with the other festivals in the group to demonstrate that Aberdeen is a city with great cultural and artistic assets at its heart.’
Current Aberdeen Festival members have reported an increase in audience awareness and attendances at events and profile nationally and internationally as a result of the joint promotional and advocacy work of the collaboration.
Steve Harris, Chief Executive of VisitAberdeen and Chair of Aberdeen Festivals said: ‘Following an exciting 18 month pilot period we are pleased to announce that three new festivals will join us for the 2016 calendar. SPECTRA, Look Again Festival and True North all have a huge amount to offer in terms of our priorities of profile raising, audience building and strengthening the sector. I am delighted that Aberdeen Festivals continues to go from strength to strength and has added a real buzz to the city’s offer as a vibrant and exciting place to live, study and visit.’
To date the group has secured private sponsorship from Statoil UK, a major funding boost from Visit Scotland to carry out a national and international marketing campaign aimed at driving cultural tourism to Aberdeen and been shortlisted for a number of local and national business and arts awards.