So, did anybody else have any important revelations at Artsfest? Maybe someone encountered an immigrant who wasn’t simulteously scrounging off the state and taking our jobs, or anything of the like.

The fact that we have any well poulated cultural events has to be a good thing. How people use figures for positive or negative spins is another matter and not one that I feel the need to involve myself in yet again – I spend an increasing amount of time dealing with this in other areas and genuinely trying to address and challenge the issues around them. On this particular weekend my own brain took a holiday – which maybe accounted for surpirse when someone else’s didn’t. Over and above this I still try and maintain a sense of humour.

And, oh these crazy chavs. Reading and everything, whatever next. Maybe they might even impress you sufficiently to put aside the snobbery far enough to acknowledge that these particular ones may even have been human beings, Anthony.

I attended the Blast performance as you know John, it was a spectacular event and extremely well staged. I read a comment elsewhere on the blog that asked the question why so little media interest? and as for national coverage… I agree that if the production had been a Tate or more generally a London event it would have been all over the culture show and broadsheet reviews. It is encouraging when a large crowd turn out two nights in a row on a cold evening.

My evening was made all the more enjoyable when three track-suite wearing Chav’s turned up – the one of them began telling the others how Curzon Street station was the original Birmingham station opened in…the oldest station in… etc Who says arts funding isn’t well spent? If one Chav has the courage to read and remember interesting facts – AND run the risk of his mates ridicule “Yer Mom!” then job well done. Not exactly a barometer or statistically exact science – but one that made me realize the potential for affect on social awareness of the arts.

Interestingly in contrast to the hundreds of people at that one event and not unrealistic figures into the thousands throughout the artsfest events, we don’t hear anywhere near the same level of cynicism about the blatantly very poor turn out at most gigs. In fact it is a real cause for concern. We should in principle celebrate any large attendance (whatever the figures) at any cultural event in the region.

Thank you Dave that’s the one that I was thinking of.

I should have looked more closely at that New Audience website as it has reports from the ’98 and ’99 Artfest by Paul Kaynes.

110,000 attended in ’99 and the survey method was “short questionnaires, consisting of twelve questions aiming to discover arts attendance behaviour before and during ArtsFest.”

26% were from a 45 minute drive away.

Dave