Globalfest 2012 to be Held at Webster Hall, 1/8
October 4, 2011; by BWW News Desk

For one night every January, thefestival's organizers-Isabel Soffer of Live Sounds,Bill Bragin of Acidophilus: Live and ActiveCultures, and Shanta Thake of Joe'sPub atThe Public Theater-gatherhigh-caliber musicians from aroundthe world, artists prepared toshowcase their music in order tobuild their North American touring careers. They attract diverse,enthusiastic presenters from across the country, in town for theannual Association of Performing Arts Conference (APAP), whoare increasingly eager to book unexpected, engaging sounds.They garner major press coverage, often the first national-oreven first English-language-media attention for festivalperformers.

 

But obstacles to spreading the music remained. A particularlydaunting one: The cost for many large international ensembles totour in the U.S. is prohibitive. Complicated visa expenses,transportation and hotel costs, and sky-high baggage fees mountbefore musicians have even played a single show.Enter the new globalFEST Touring Fund (gFTF), a unique programand part of a generous grant from the Ford Foundation to supportthe festival and its mission of cultivating the world music marketby showcasing tour-ready artists and expanding world musicaudiences.

"We've done a great job at stimulating the market and creatinginterest in global music, by focusing on artists who are new to thefield or ready to leap to a new level in their careers. From thebeginning, we've focused on expanding the numbers of presenters interested in world music, which helps build a strongertouring base," notes Bragin. "But there remains a gap betweenthat interest and the real costs of touring, between presenters'fees based on their local market realities and artists' actualtouring expenses. Now, with the globalFEST Touring Fund, onceartists create demand, it will be easier to fulfill a tour. It's helpedus return to the roots of globalFEST, which is about bringing moreworld music to more communities."With the support of the gFTF, artists can bridge this gap andreach new markets. All past and present globalFEST performerswill be eligible to apply for a competitive grant for reimbursementof qualified touring expenses, helping to defray the costs of coming to and traveling within the U.S. Artists will have twoopportunities to apply for funding. The gFTF will require artists tohit at least one new market during their tour-a club date, festivalappearance, concert, or industry showcase -thereby spreadingthe festival's impact throughout the country and year in asignificant way.In addition to supporting the establishment of the gFTF, the FordFoundation's grant will also allow globalFEST to help artists coverthe cost of performing at the festival itself for the next twoeditions, as well as allow the festival to establish itself firmly asan independent, non-profit organization. Invited artists havealways supported their own showcases, raising and investing theirown funds for travel and non-production expenses. For the firsttime, globalFEST will now be able to offer modest stipends to helpreimburse artists and offset some of these costs.

Since its inception, globalFEST has been a volunteer-run,showcase festival that has relied primarily on ticket sales to coverits costs, augmented by an annual grant from its foundingpartner, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in NewYork. Starting last year, and continuing this year with a launch onOctober 3, globalFEST has appealed to its fans to help supportthe event and maintain its low ticket price, through acrowdsourced funding campaign on Kickstarter."Now, globalFEST will be able to give back to artists in a moremeaningful way and really show our support, not just through thefestival itself," explains Soffer. "This is something we wanted tofigure out from very early on. We're moving beyond a one-nightevent that has been incredibly productive for the artists andpresenters, and can now create year-round opportunities thatmove forward our mission to build a diverse world music touringforce in the U.S."globalFEST 2012 will be held January 8, 2012 at NYC's WebsterHall. This edition's line up will be announced Monday, October 24,2011. For updates, event info, and tickets, go to globalfest.org.