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LAC Production and Marketing Department team visits the Contemporary Circus Festival LEME in Portugal

18.12.2024

From 5 to 8 December, the Contemporary Circus Festival LEME took place in Iljavo, Portugal, focusing on artistic creativity, performances in an unconventional space, as well as networking among professionals. In 2024, the festival focused on the concept of “common space”, highlighting the audience as an essential element of the artistic experience. The festival was attended by around 140 performing arts professionals, including the team of the Production and Marketing Department of the Latvian Academy of Culture (LAC) - Kristīne Freiberga, Aija Lūse, Elza Strazdiņa, Ance Bergmane and Oskars Vītoliņš.

"The trip to the Contemporary Circus Festival LEME in Iljavo was important to me for several reasons. Firstly, as we organise a performing arts festival at the LAC and are always thinking about the development of the festival and new models, it was a good opportunity to be inspired by a professionally organised festival where every detail was taken care of. As we were part of the professional programme of the festival, we didn’t have to worry about anything at all. We were presented with a selection of fantastic works - both full-length pieces and process pieces, some of which I would love to see in the Riga Circus!

Also, in this professional programme, they took care of us from early morning to late evening, planning routes, logistics, catering, cultural programme, etc. It was really inspiring how in a small city we experienced such a high concentration of culture - performances were everywhere - in the cultural centre, on the streets, in the kindergarten, in the maritime museum, in the market, in the sports hall. Secondly, it was brilliant to see how the marketing of the festival is done. How tasty and design-wise unified all the visual communication materials were, how fast the coverage of each day's events was, how many photographers and videographers were working at the festival to produce the retrospectives and reports. It was also inspiring and at the highest level. And the third thing is that this trip was also important for us as a department. Given the relatively recent structural changes at the LKA, it was great to socialise with colleagues from the department outside the work format, because of course through such informal activities more trust is built, and it is easier to find common ground in professional relationships further down the line," says Kristīne Freiberga, Director of the department.

Elza Strazdiņa, the producer of the performances and events, emphasises that her primary goal at the festival "was to get to know the art of contemporary circus by attending performances, even five in one day, with a strong emphasis on getting to know the work of organising the festival. To observe how a festival is made, with 140 professionals, 20 performances and a daily programme for professionals from 10am to midnight and beyond, where every little thing is thought of, whether it's lunch, transport, etc. It allowed me to see how I make festivals and to see things that I could take from the LEME Festival into my own practice".

Aija Lūse, Head of Marketing and PR, evaluated the communication and marketing that the festival implemented as the most valuable aspect of the festival visit: "The communication and marketing of the festival was implemented by integrating both traditional and digital strategies, starting with the extensive and diverse use of digital communication channels, covering not only the festival performances and introducing the artists, but also widely sharing the visitors' experiences, ending with the availability of information at the venues of the performances. The festival team was able to create a festival atmosphere throughout the city with lights, posters and handouts. More than a month before the festival, high quality visual material on social media created interest in the upcoming events, and the same after the festival - almost two weeks have passed, but still the special event effect is maintained in communication, creating a good aftertaste of the experience.

It was often asked why the festival organisers had paid so much attention to attracting performing arts professionals from different European countries and how this large group of colleagues would be integrated into the festival processes. And there was no need to look for answers - both in discussions and in informal moments, networking and mutual contacts were encouraged. During and after the festival, the creative teams and artists had the opportunity to interact in person with the professionals who attended the festival and to build collaborations. Not only the potential collaboration was important for the artists, but also the feedback from the professionals about their experience. The creation of a networking platform between artists and representatives from different countries was one of the biggest benefits of the festival. Of course, the biggest beneficiary of the festival was the Portuguese city of Iljavo and its inhabitants, who several days became participants in the special event. The festival team had thought about involving different age groups. Bringing this kind of festival to more remote towns is certainly a great asset for the city and may, in the longer term, provide an opportunity to encourage an influx of local and international visitors".

Thanks to the festival team for hosting us at the highest level!

The trip was part of the ERASMUS+ international mobility programme.

More about the festival: https://lemefestival.pt/