We are now less than three months until the Brighton Digital Festival 2013 which seems a good time to provide a bit of an update on the planning which is going on, and highlight some of the opportunities for Wired Sussex members to participate.
For those of you who don't know much about the BDF, it's a big, ambitious, month-long festival, which runs for the whole of September, and presents a huge programme of activities and events under the strap line 'celebrating digital culture'. This September will be the festivals third year, and we're looking forward to building on the fantastic success of 2012, which saw over 100 events in more than 45 venues and spaces across the City, and a combined audience of 25,000 people.
The festival's core mission is to support, strengthen and showcase the City's cultural, creative and commercial sectors clustering around new media, tech and digital. To this end our partners Lighthouse curate an arts and education programme within of the Festival, and here at Wired Sussex we undertake the coordination, which includes the marketing and publicity, producing festival programmes (on and offline), the PR, evaluation, and supporting the network of festival organisers.
Fundamentally this festival is about offering a platform, and this is where the festival gets really interesting; the broader programme of events, shows, meet ups, conferences, workshops and performances that are independently produced by individuals and organisations across the city. These events use the festival to present their activity to the festivals expanding audience, meet other organisers, forge new connections and embark on collaborations.
Want to organise an event?
Lots of you will know all this already - and if you're already planning an event for BDF2013 then you should be planning to submit core event information for the online website brochure in the first week in July. It might also just be worth checking in on the timescales for submitting information on the Organisers Page on www.brightondigitalfestival.co.uk.
On the other hand, if you're just starting to wonder about organising your own activity as part of this years festival, then there is still time. The BDF website is the best place to start catching up on planning, and it also offers links to the organisers google group and shared event calendar. You could also get in touch directly: mail@brightondigitalfestival.co.uk. We have a small, but willing team, and will do what I can to link you up with appropriate people.
Open Studios:
Another way for Wired Sussex members to participate, as part of a larger project is via the Creative Digital & IT Open Studios programme, which returns again this year for five days, 23rd- 27th Sept. The Open Studios is coordinated by Wired Sussex and invites organisations from across the sector to open their doors and invite interested members of the public to see what goes on behind the curtain. The call for participants is currently open and more info can be found here: http://www.wiredsussex.com/blog/creative-digital-it-open-studios-2013-call-for-participants
Grassroots Fund:
Finally I should also mention the Grassroots Fund. This funs is twenty micro pots of £250, earmarked to support small independent events by contributing to the actual cash costs of organising something, whether that be venue or equipment hire, event publicity, or money for some extra pairs of hands on the day.
The idea of the fund is to support individuals, or small no-for-profit groups without existing backing from an organization and the scheme has so far supported 13 projects and events for this years festival. This means that 7 awards remain, and the deadline has now been extended. More information and a short application form can be found here.
More information:
The best source of information, now and in the coming weeks as the programme develops is www.brightondigitalfestival.co.uk. Do also follow the conversation @digitalbrighton, on Facebook or come along to the next monthly BDF meetup on Tuesday 2nd July at 6pm, The Victory Pub.
Look forward to seeing you there!
Tom Bailey
Brighton Digital Festival Manager
