Dr Reynolds: So, first of all, we need to look at the events and see what should be included in next year's festival and what changes should be made. Dr Saunders mentioned that there were issues with the music and crafts. What are your feelings on those two issues? Do you want to start, Sangita?
Sangita: Well, as regards the music, I think we need to have another artist in reserve in case the main act can't perform, like in this year's festival. It doesn't have to be a well-known band. It could be a small act, like a student band. What do you think, Lawrence?
Lawrence: You have a point, but I'm not really sure if any artists would be happy to perform only if the main act lets us down. In any case, how often does that happen? This was the first time, and I don't see it happening again in the future.
Dr Reynolds: I'm not sure we can take that for granted, Lawrence. If you look at what happened, we lost £3,000 as we had to return money to the audience. I don't think anything bad would have happened, but I think we need to bear in mind that our visitors are the most important aspect of the festival and we have to make sure we keep them happy at all costs.
Lawrence: How about we arrange the programme so that on one night there isn't a famous headline act but a good local band, so that we can change the programme to make them the main act if anyone else isn't able to perform. We could put them on the last evening, and tell them that they may be needed on the other evenings, just in case.That way, we're helping good local talent and making sure that our visitors are happy.
Sangita: Yes, I can see that working. Then we could use the student band to play the last night if we have to switch the local band from the last night to an earlier night.
Dr Reynolds: OK ... good ideas. I'll make a note so that we can take it back to the organising committee. Now,let's move on to the question of crafts. As we heard, the event didn't go very well and lacked visitors.What do you think we should do, Sangita?
Sangita: Well, I have a personal interest in this. I've been creating my own fashion designs and I had some clothes on display mixing Western and Indian themes.Actually, I spent some time watching the visitors and I thought they liked the clothes a lot. I think we have to be careful to distinguish the clothes from the other crafts.
Lawrence: Yes, I noticed that. I spent the third day in the craft section helping visitors and I noticed that the clothes exhibition was the most appreciated. I think the glass and ceramic section had hardly any visitors when I was there. Perhaps we should just have the clothes on display, maybe even extend that section?
Dr Reynolds: Yes, that could be a good solution. I don’t think we should get rid of the glass and pottery altogether, but I certainly think we should promote the clothes section more.
Lawrence: Well, here's a suggestion: we could even think of turning that into a separate fashion show. What do you think of that?
Sangita: Good idea! I was thinking about that anyway. Can we put that to the committee?
Dr Reynolds: Of course. I've made a note of it. Regarding the theatre and poetry, do you think we need to make any changes?
Lawrence: Nothing major, I don't think, but perhaps we should use at least one day to present new plays and poems by our own students. It's wonderful putting on plays by well-known playwrights and readings of well-known poets, but perhaps we should promote our own talent here in the university. It would certainly help the performing arts students to expand their coursework, and we could have a competition for the best new works.
Dr Reynolds: Excellent idea, Lawrence. What do you think, Sangita?
Sangita: Yes, but let's not limit it to just English. We could also have performances from our international students in their languages. I think that would really help promote the festival as an international event.
Dr Reynolds: Fine. We can propose that as well. And as far as the photography and cinema sections are concerned, they'll keep expanding.
Lawrence: Well, personally, I don't think the quality of the photography exhibition was very high. I think there are issues with digital photography being presented as a printed exhibition. You can never really capture the true meaning of the photograph like that. I would suggest just having digital displays, you know, tablets that visitors can use to see the photographer's collection. That way, it'll encourage photographers to develop their ideas and think about their exhibits almost as films with a story. I think that's the way photography is going these days.
Sangita: I don't agree. I think each image should be appreciated in its own way, as the photographer intends. I don't think we should push photographers into one direction.That said, I think the idea of having tablets and digital screens is a good idea if we can afford it. Perhaps we could have two sections - digital displays and non digital displays.
Dr Reynolds: Sounds good, Sangita. I can certainly put that to the committee and see if they'll consider it. So, if that's all about the events themselves, I'd like to discuss the organisation of the festival ... |
