LANGUAGE/IDIOMA
English: The official language of the Lacuna Festivals is English. The festivals are international and as such the common working/professional language is English. To make things as easy as possible, we have embedded a Google Translate button at the bottom of each of our pages so that you can read all of the information in 100 different languages.
Espanol: El idioma oficial de los Lacuna Festivals es el inglés. Los festivales son internacionales y, como tal, el idioma común de trabajo/profesional es el inglés. Para hacer las cosas lo más fáciles posible, hemos incorporado un botón de Google Translate en la parte inferior de cada una de nuestras páginas para que pueda leer toda la información en 100 idiomas diferentes.
EFFE LABEL
Lacuna Festivals are proud to have been awarded the Europe for Festivals Festivals for Europe (EFFE) 'Remarkable Arts Festival' label for 2024-35.
The EFFE Label is Europe’s quality stamp for remarkable arts festivals showing their engagement in the field of the arts, community involvement and international openness. Now, around 1550 festivals across Europe have received the EFFE Label and can display this on their website, promotional materials and social media channels. Festivals displaying this label fulfill a minimum of 7 out of the 10 designated quality standards as judged by a panel of international festival experts.
It means a lot to us here at Lacuna Festivals to have received this label for the second year runningas the designated quality standards as set out by EFFE line up really well with the aims of Lacuna Festivals, which can read more about below.
Find out more about EFFE and the EFFE label by visiting their website, by clicking here.
AIMS
Through the Lacuna Festivals we hope to;
Promote quality, contemporary (and sometimes challenging) art to communities isolated by significant distance from mainland Europe.
Offer something local/translocal for both resident and visiting artists through stimulating local creatives and the local culture.
To enlarge creative networks and provide a point of contact for the exchange of knowledge, the sharing of ideas and the blossoming of creativity.
Develop new ways to exhibit, curate and organise large scale arts events through the use of crowdsourcing for ideas, funding, curation, promotion and all other aspects of such events.
Support artists at all stages of their careers and from all backgrounds. Equal opportunities for everyone regardless of status, income, gender, race, age, orientation, celebrity or fame.
THE LACUNA FESTIVALS TEAM
Lacuna Festivals are run by a tiny team of practicing, contemporary artists Sarah-Jane Mason and Simon Turner. Sarah-Jane is a mixed media artist and creative facilitator and educator, Simon is an ephemeral land artist, upcycler and jewellery maker. The implications of the festivals being run by artists, for artists are massive - there is no profit skimming, business minded, capitalist thinking going on here! We do not see art as an elitist commodity simply to be owned and prized for its monetary value. We see art as essential to our lives and believe that it is essential in everybody's lives - perhaps more than some realise. We are passionate about what we do and we treat your artwork in exactly the same way as we treat our own - with the respect it implicitly deserves.
WHY DO WE RUN LACUNA FESTIVALS?
This has to be the question we get asked the most. It is not our job, we haven’t been asked to do it and we don’t get paid for it, so we understand why it may be difficult to understand our motivation. But really our motivation is simple and comes from our own experiences.
As artists ourselves we found that there are simply not enough spaces, opportunities, places, people or networks for creatives to do their thing. You know to get together; network both professionally and socially with likeminded people; exhibit their artworks; share their ideas, experiences, knowledge, skills and understanding or even just validate their lifestyle as a creative person.This is particularly true if you live in a remote location, have unsupportive family/friends, don’t have easy access to funding and/or are also working a full time job at the same time.
We run the festivals for you, the artists, because we are just like you. We don’t have enough money, enough time, enough space or enough resources.
What we do have is the drive and determination to find the things that we need to make creative spaces (temporary or permanent) happen. Yes, it is hard work and the week before the festivals we don’t sleep and we mainly survive on coffee and hugs from our friends (this year we couldn't even have hugs!). But the thing is that doing this benefits everyone, you, us and everyone who sees the exhibitions or takes part in the events. So now, running the festivals is one of our favourite things to do.
Let's get our art out there and let it speak for itself to all who encounter it. Let's share our vision of the world, our troubles, our thoughts, our ideas and whatever else we may chose to communicate. But let's share it knowing that it has an intrinsic worth that cannot be defined by a cash sum and knowing that as creatives we are living a valid way of life.