Festivals as networked communities, and a PhD journey to Tilburg University

By Dr David Jarman

In the world of festivals and communities, relationships matter. Festival managers and producers understand the overlapping links, both professional and private, amongst their colleagues. Freelancers and graduates developing their careers appreciate that opportunities may come by way of personal connections. The future success of entire festival organisations can depend on forging, maintaining and exploiting associations with collaborators, suppliers and allies.

Academic literature in the field of festival studies has sought to better understand the interpersonal dimension of these events, from different conceptual standpoints, in a range of contexts. However, in this festival environment there remains an opportunity, if not a need, to establish the place of network-based research methods and perspectives in the development of academic and industry understandings of social relationships. Networks underpin these connections and communities, from simple ties between pairs of people, to complex webs spanning hundreds of individuals, venues, performing companies, supply chains and audience members.

Earlier this summer, just before the beginning of term, I headed over to The Netherlands to complete my doctorate. The research is a response to the question: “What can social network analysis, and a network-orientated perspective, contribute to understanding the relationships within festival and creative communities?”

My PhD was with Tilburg University, where I had been a student for three years through the period of Covid lockdowns. The empirical work that contributed to it was built up over a number of years though, through a range of different journal articles, conference presentations and book chapters. It has been a privilege and an interesting journey over that time to complete this range of different projects, and to work with different people along the way. Taking this “by publication” route meant that I was able to focus on different projects, involving an array of primary data types, and various research methodologies. I was also able to find different homes for my work, with the support of many editors and colleagues along the way. Presenting my work at different conferences and events allowed me to tell people about my work and generate some interest in the network approach that I’ve been taking.

Throughout my work I’ve been focusing on different types of social network analysis. SNA is a growing area of academic research, partly driven by the opportunities that it presents, but also because of the interest in networks that has developed over the past 20 years. This interest is partly driven by widespread use of social media and communications technologies, but also through the shared experience of the Covid-19 pandemic and its spread across the globe. I was able to take this interest and apply it to the context of festivals and events, showing that there is a lot to be learnt and concluded from a network focused approach.

Going through the Dutch system was very interesting and rewarding, and very different from the experiences of colleagues who went through a UK system. My trip to Tilburg in late summer was primarily for a public defence of my PhD: I was given an hour on stage in which to present my work, and then to answer questions from a panel of assembled professors. It was a good experience, and my supervisors were confident that I would get through it, so I was happy to have my family with me to see it! I also produced a public publication so to speak: this took the form of multiple copies of a printed book with a shiny cover, that people who attended the event were free to take away with them. It has been an interesting journey to turn my PhD thesis into something which can quite comfortably sit on a bookshelf in a library, or in someone’s study.

The publication of the book in this form, and also as a PDF freely available from the Tilburg University repository, means that the various publications that I collected over the years are now in one place. If anyone wants to know what I’ve done over the past 10 years or so, they can head to the Tilburg University website and there it will be.

The journey to Tilburg was fantastic, and the good weather really helped. I was also very happy that one of my colleagues at Napier, Professor Jane Ali-Knight, was one of my supervisors, and therefore also at the public defence. Working with her, and my director of studies Professor Greg Richards, has been a really rewarding and valuable experience in itself. Greg and I, for example, published a special issue of the Event Management academic journal in 2021. We also collaborated on some events through the ATLAS group of academics, and we shall continue to build on this.

Final thanks from me must go to two groups of people. One is my family, my partner and young son who came out to the Netherlands with me. We enjoyed some lovely days in Amsterdam, Tilburg, and nearby Breda. The other group of people are the various administrators, support staff and Beadles who helped me at Tilburg University. They are a fantastic team, and I was really lucky to work with such great people through the six-month journey from thesis submission to public defence and book publication. The Tilburg campus is beautiful, the atmosphere is lively, and I was very well looked after by everyone I met.

In terms of my work as an academic at Edinburgh Napier, I am now in a position to tell anyone that there is a collected body of my work in that book. I’m also very happy that I can now call myself Dr. This will open up future opportunities to me in terms of research and other work, with additional freedoms to treat each project on its own merits rather than being part of a bigger endeavour. I will, of course, retain my interest in festivals, networks, and communities, and I will continue to share this with people at every opportunity that comes my way.

Edinburgh Napier student – Brodie Sutton – is winner of UK Undergraduate Event Management Student of the Year award from the Association for Events Management Education (AEME)

For the second year in a row, an Edinburgh Napier University student has been awarded the title of UK Undergraduate Event Management Student of the Year from the Association for Events Management Education (AEME).

AEME is an international organisation that aims to support and raise the profile of the events discipline through the sharing of education and best practice. This is the second year of AEME presenting this major award, and the second year the award went to an Edinburgh Napier University student, with Cameron Hughes receiving the award in 2021.

Brodie Sutton, winner of the 2022 Award was nominated by his dissertation supervisor Dr Gary Kerr, Associate Professor in Festival & Event Management.

Brodie graduated with a first-class BA (Hons) in International Festival & Event Management with Entrepreneurship. Brodie’s first class degree is representative of his consistent excellent grades he achieved throughout his four years at Edinburgh Napier University. His dissertation examined how drones can be used safely and efficiently at events, creating theoretical and practical insights.

Brodie has been Programme Representative at Staff-Student Liaison Committee over the past 4-years, being shortlisted in 2020 for Edinburgh Napier Student Association’s ‘Best Programme Representative Award’. He was also nominated by his peers and shortlisted this year for Edinburgh Napier Student’s Associations’ ‘Most Inspiring Student Award’.

Brodie served as President (2021-22) of the Edinburgh Napier Events Society. Here, he has guided the society and overseen its development. He has impressed academic staff through a comprehensive calendar of online and hybrid events during the Covid-19 pandemic including organising a Winter Ball for 500 students. He has enriched the student experience through creating opportunities for fellow students – many of whom have gone on to secure work relevant to their university course, in managerial roles, even before graduating from university.

Brodie has been Vice-Coordinator of Meadows Marathon – and led the sponsorship, marketing & partnerships team in this role. This has generated significant funds for the charities supported by the Marathon.

Academic staff at The Business School have been particularly impressed in seeing Brodie step up in the role as Trustee of Edinburgh Student Charities Appeal (ESCA) and to see him share his event management skills with others working for the charity. Passionate about enhancing the student experience, Brodie appeared on the ‘Events for Breakfast’ podcast talking about the need to give students ways of reconnecting post-lockdown.

Remarkably, Brodie has been instrumental in helping academic colleagues in The Business School plan and deliver hybrid and online events. He managed the online deliveries of the ATLAS Events Special Interest Group symposium held at ENU in October 2020, and also managed platform delivery for the BAFA Festivals Forum.

David Jarman, Programme Leader of the BA (Hons) International Festival & Event Management suite of courses said “Brodie has been a fantastic student who has performed so well inside and outside of the classroom, and is fully deserving of this award. We have seen Brodie go from strength to strength. Through his ambition, hard work and professionalism, Brodie has been able to apply learning from the classroom in practical ways, and I’m delighted he has been recognised in this way”.

To find out more about studying Festival and Event Management and the various joint degrees available at Edinburgh Napier University, please click here.