The intention

In 2008 I was the organizer of a festival entitled 'The Sea Comes' about climate change on the Zuiderstrand. The aim was to raise awareness of the magnitude and consequences of climate change.

The approach

On the Zuiderstrand in The Hague, from the Scheveningen Havenhoofd to Kijkduin on one can visit an art route during the festival. The artworks were specially created for this festival and inspired by the theme of climate change. The art route was put together in such a way that an immense installation is created where human creativity intervenes in nature in a respectful way.
The organizations that designed this festival together have made a very big effort. Vele (free) hours have been invested in the organization and marketing of the event.

The result

That this turned out to be a brilliantly failed event is because a number of presuppositions turned out to be blatantly incorrect:

– Despite initial successes, funding was ultimately insufficient for such an event
– The main organizations that had to provide support for the event, the beach pavilions, turned out not to form any unity organizationally and they all had their own opinion about the festival and the problems.

The lessons

– You have to put in a lot more effort in the promotion, because of the size, programs and concepts have to be ready much earlier
– A festival over a length of almost 6 km (containing holes in the GSM network) causes enormous coordination problems.
– People don't walk a walking route from 6 km to see art.
– Although the beach is a linear landscape element, it certainly does not structure visitors along a line (there are ramps everywhere and people walk from their means of transport)
– The weather does not always cooperate in September (the first day was totally rained out)

Author: Ernst Jan Stroes

LEAVE COMMENTS