DAF 2011 Report by the Chair

Welcome and thanks to all who have made the effort to come along to the AGM. It takes 6 months to plan and deliver DAF and my thanks go to the Committee and the wider team for working hard to make DAF 2011 happen. A lot has to be put into place over those months, from fundraising events, finding sponsors and advertisers, processing artist applications and developing the programme, as well as the marketing and communications with venues, artists and stakeholders which continues up to and all the way through DAF week. A lot of people are also then involved during DAF week.

Thanks to some great weather DAF really was a successful festival as you can see from the key facts. It was great to also see good audiences at daytime concerts, in the Parsonage and in the park for the Creative Space event and at the charity events which were a sell out. The gallery at Emmanuel was a testament to the number and range of artists who live locally and who also supported DAF with their own exhibitions and open studios.

The number and quality of classical music in the programme again proved that Didsbury has a wealth of talent and is an attractive place for this type of event and for musicians who are students as well as those who are professionals. The Jazz concert programme was the best yet and the family events attracted large audiences and highlighted that these events are ever popular with the local community and the public generally.

It was good to also have some experimental new work in the programme, from new writing with Flash Tag, poetry, short film, and theatre events and to see more young people involved in these as well as in the Didsbury’s Got Talent event run by Ivy Manchester and hosted by Parrs Wood High School. We look forward to working more with the churches and schools in future and to a growing interest from those artists wanting to launch new work. And also with organisations like the Manchester Comedy Film Festival, a new experience in 2011.

It really couldn’t happen without funding and sponsorship, as well as the support of local businesses. So we thank all of our sponsors and in particular our main sponsors Siemens (who hosted an event and exhibition), Montrose Properties (who sponsored the gallery and Cathy Stott concert and came up with the idea of painting doors working with the schools) and Stealth Marketing for their ongoing support and design of the programme and guide. Also our advertisers some of whom have supported us each year. Thanks too, to the competition judges, who gave us the benefit of their time and experience for free.

All of the DAF volunteers and organisers are great ambassadors for the festival and for Didsbury and put in a lot of work and their own time to be there at events and to just ‘get involved’. The core team is also not very big and with the committee and a few key people, (we are not talking more than 20) they all work hard on specific events. Thanks too for the support given by the Civic Society who oversee the Parsonage Gardens event, Janet Higgins for the Fletcher Moss Park event, and to the team and not least to the Committee members.

DAF is about arts and culture, it’s also about ‘getting involved’ and having fun whether performing and exhibiting, or meeting people from all walks of life. If people didn’t get involved DAF and other similar community events would not happen. Well done to everyone for DAF 2011.

DAF 2012 and 2013 – looking forward to the next year

Depending on the way you look at things, making a decision to change the way you do something can either be easy or difficult, and there is never a perfect time for change. However, change is rarely a bad thing and you should always be open to it. With that in mind, we decided to review the last three years of DAF and what has worked well and not so well, and whether it continued to meet the original objectives, plus whether we needed to consider setting new objectives in light of our experience.

Having done this review, sought feedback, and thought about it long and hard, the decision was taken to move DAF to the end of June. This meant holding the next full festival in June 2013 to allow time for planning. The revamped DAF will be planned over this next year and is likely to incorporate two full weekends so that more family events can take place, it is also likely to be focused on key programmes such as classical music, poetry and writing, outdoor events, and workshops, and support local groups who want to run events during DAF. We will also review the use of venues and the focus will be on fewer venues and events but still taking advantage of what Didsbury has to offer.

The ambition is to support more new work through sponsorship and competitions, and to attract artists with regional and national reputation, for some key events. We will also look at how best to engage the schools in DAF and to work with them around the new timing, and during the year.

What does this mean for 2012? Well, this year will give us a chance to think well ahead and plan for 2013, but in the meantime we won’t be idle. There will be one off events planned including the potential for: a fundraiser evening event in June and we will participate in the Didsbury Festival on 16 June; an exhibition of artwork in collaboration with local artists and venues; a one off short film event, a weekend mini DAF fest at the end of September with a programme that will reflect all that is good about Didsbury and local arts, and I also hope we can do something in the lead up to Christmas again in collaboration with local artists or groups and venues. We will look at using our web site to promote and highlight arts and culture and the DAF events, and look at finding new ways to let people know what is happening and keep DAF on the radar.

This year also offers an opportunity to review our structure and operations, as a registered charity and to make improvements. As part of this we will be keeping a watching brief on developments and HMRC announcements around the availability of a new community company for small charities, expected to be later this year and would hope to have implemented any restructuring before late Autumn, which is when we would launch the application process for the June 2013 festival.

This year provides a good opportunity for anyone who wants to join the DAF team, to come along and meet the committee, propose ideas or offer their time to help. We are always looking for people willing to help coordinate events for example; to help with marketing and communications, including social media, to curate exhibitions or help secure sponsorship and advertising. We would also like to forge more links with Manchester based organisations where that would lead to new ideas and help us to build on DAF’s reputation in Manchester. Anyone with skills and experience in the arts, in business or in working with community based charities is encouraged to get in touch.

We look forward to working with those sponsors, local businesses and community groups who have supported DAF in the last 3 years and to a fruitful and enjoyable 2012 for all involved.

Maria Stripling, Chair, DAF