Background

It will be the 10th year of the Fal River Festival (FRF) in 2015 and the team want to mark the milestone by injecting a new impetus of creative energy into the Festival. So we are looking for an Artistic/Creative Director to join the team.

The FRF is a not-for-profit community festival that celebrates the Fal River and everything that goes on in this part of the world. Happening each year at the end of May, it marks the beginning of the summer season and has become an important fixture in Falmouth’s calendar.

In previous years, the festival has had an arts element but this has been accompanied by sports, family and charity events. Events happen at a number of different venues around the area and there is the opportunity to widen this for 2015. In addition, places like National Maritime Museum and Falmouth Art Gallery incorporate their half term events into the Festival programme although we haven’t been that successful in the past at arranging special, one-off festival events at these venues.

Most of the events within the festival are currently not ticketed (apart from those that are accessed as part of a general entrance fee such as at the NMMC) and we would like to try to continue with that accessibility.

The role

The festival organisers are looking for an Artistic Director who will help us make great things happen in 2015.

We are looking for someone who can work with local arts groups, educational institutions such as Falmouth University and Truro College, organisations such as Miracle Theatre and Cornwall Youth Orchestra and venues such as The Poly and Hall for Cornwall to put together a rich and varied programme of events for the festival.

A number of partners are already committed to the festival, including Fal River Cornwall, Truro BID, Falmouth Festivals, National Trust Trelissick Garden and Falmouth University. These partners are committed to making the Fal River Festival a success and can be relied on for support and as a source of great ideas throughout the planning process.

Whilst the role is part time, we are looking for someone who can offer flexibility as we anticipate some evening/weekend work may be required as well as an increase in hours nearer the festival.

The Artistic Director’s responsibilities will be:

• To build a programme of vibrant events across all 10 days of the festival, introducing new and innovative happenings
• To ensure the needs of a wide range of target audiences is met, including families, tourists, locals etc
• To engage with local groups to make the most of the artistic community in the Fal River area
• To refer possible sponsors to the Fal River team to take advantage of any commercial opportunities
• To investigate and apply for grants and funding opportunities

The current Fal River team will:

• Liaise with supporters and sponsors to secure sponsorship funding
• Design and produce the festival programme
• Work with media partners and organise all PR – although the artistic director may be required to attend media interviews etc
• Organise the opening ceremony (Beer Fleet) and work with Falmouth Festivals on a programme of events on Events Square over the bank holiday weekend (Friday 22nd May to Monday 25th May) (although some Artistic Director input may be desirable here)
• Organise some reoccurring events such as Jazz on the Quay and Film on the Ferry
• Finance and managing the festival budget
• Support the artistic director with admin

Experience

You should have previous experience of events management and working with creative groups. It may be an advantage if you have worked in Cornwall previously but this is not a pre-requisite.

Hours & remuneration

This is a part time role with variable hours/days in the run up to the Festival, at a rate of £15 per hour. We can be flexible but an indicative requirement is:

• December 2014 & January 2015 – 1 day per week
• February, March & April 2015 – 2 days per week
• May 2015 – 3 days per week

Please send CV's with covering letters to Sam White - sam@falriver.co.uk by 30th November 2014.