Stuart WoodThe Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has announced the full lineup of speakers for its Festival Congress 2019.
The event takes place 6-7 November at Abbeydale Picturehouse in Sheffield, a historic buiding which is now open for events following a renovation.
It will feature legendary rock photographer Jill Furmanovsky, Bestival’s Rob da Bank, Extinction Rebellion, Sensoria and Arcadia Spectacular.
The Independent Festival Awards will again take place at 92 Burton Road – a warehouse venue that is well known for its ‘Peddler Night Market’ events – and will feature décor and theatrical elements inspired by this year’s theme of ‘Utopia And Dystopia’.
Jill Furmanovsky has photographed the likes of Oasis, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and Blondie across a 40-year career, and will be surveying some of her most famous images in an interview format.
Rob da Bank will be live recording an edition of his A-Z of Festivals podcast, in which he spotlights a series of festivals in conversation with their organisers.
Jo Wingate, founder of Sensoria, will speak about their immersive screening of Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ with a live score from Factory Floor on the site of a former steel mill.
Bert Cole of performance art collective Arcadia Spectacular will deliver a closing keynote documenting the transition from their Spider structure to their Pangea installation at Glastonbury this year and the ‘Arcadia Reach’ project.
And Bing Jones of Extinction Rebellion will also deliver a quick-fire talk at the event.
AIF CEO Paul Reed said: “Following an exciting inaugural year in Sheffield, Festival Congress has firmly settled into its new home and is back with our most ambitious and varied programme to date.
“We’ll be debating the key issues currently facing the independent festival sector and, as ever, looking outside of the industry for inspiration.