The power of events

The summer season is a season of events (yes, we know it has only just gone Spring!).

Performances, festivals, open studios, art trails and more. Events have a certain power. They are things that can shape our lives. They become memories and vivid sensory experiences of a time and place.

Looking at a definition, we see that an event is “a thing that happens or takes place, especially one of importance”. We collectively choose to spend some time in the same space to experience some form of expression or activity or story happening in front of us. It might be an arts experience like a show or a concert, or it could be an installation or street performance, it could be a sports event, or a public speaking event, or any number of other things.

Ultimately though, events can be dazzling opportunities for meaning, dreaming, and doing. We want our time spent attending an event of any scale to make us think, to experience something, to be inspired or to learn something new. The amount of dazzle doesn’t always come down to the scale or budget of something. An intimate performance of a beautiful song in the corner of a small cafe can be as dazzling as a full noise multi-performer electronic dance fest. The dazzle depends on what you are looking for. And there are events for everyone. 

And everyone should feel like they have the opportunity to have these experiences. Accessibility is vital. Enabling us to experience the world in a collective way. For people from all walks of life to be in a space together building connections through the shared energy of a time-bound experience. To sing together. To laugh together. To win or lose and celebrate together. To sing “Tūtira mai ngā iwi” and hope that everyone around you will go: “Au e”.

This is the core of what it is all about. It is about bringing people together.

As creative people there is joy to be found in dark rooms building worlds, sharing stories and making music together. There are friendships and a powerful community of passionate, innovative, caring, creative, and insightful individuals all contributing their time and energies to making our community and our world a better and more interesting place. 

• We like events. Because we are storytellers. 
• We like events because they enable us to find shared experiences.
• We like events because we can connect through music and movement. 

Events are markers of time. They are pinpoints of things that are important to us. Events can be connected to a sense of celebration or commemoration. They can be a space for consoling and comfort, or can be an interactive and responsive space for creation. We use events to mark the passing of time, birthdays and anniversaries, and the passing of seasons, like matariki, new years, and summer.

As time flies by with increasing rapidity (particularly as we get older), it is in those markers of time that we build memory. Unique experiences help to create stronger memories – which can provide shape and structure to our memories. The more regularly we attend things, the more memories we may have, the more time we will feel we had when we look back at a year. Perhaps it is an interesting idea to consider that attending events allows you to be a time-traveller.  

And ultimately attending those events is good for us. Individually and collectively. 

From the moment of engagement with any creative experience we begin a journey that will unfold in many different ways, and connect with our personal development, as well as our interpersonal interactions and our broader long-term community building.

This is a cycle. Our social and economic benefits flow back through into engagement, funding, support, volunteering, investment, advocacy and the continued development of the arts, culture and creativity into the future.

And as a society it seems important for us to choose to be part of a community and system that wants to see more of these things happening. The investment we make into the events ecosystem is one that flows in to jobs, liveability of cities, economic development, life experience and education, health (both physical and mental health benefits have been shown), stress relief, and perhaps most excitingly, going to an event can give you a window of time as a creative escape from daily life into a space of play. 

Events exist at the intersection of hard and soft infrastructure. The spaces and venues that become activated with the people who make things happen. A place’s social and cultural norms, meanings and values are present within their forms of soft infrastructure. Supporting those people who activate hard infrastructure contributes to distinct local expression and social cohesion. We have to have the support of the soft infrastructure in order to get the benefits. 

The creative sector is enabled by the passion, expertise and care of volunteers, as well as paid employees. This is the case too in sport, community, and cultural spaces. Ultimately, our community mobilises and connects with or without hard infrastructure, and while investments in hard infrastructure are key to enabling safer, more accessible, sustainable and engaging experiences, it is important to centre people in these developments to have a thriving sector. 

And the reach of the events sector, particularly in the performing arts, exists far beyond the sector itself. The halo of events flowing into hospitality, technical providers, networks, support systems, and all the people who just want to live in a fun community with lots to do. Whether it is tourists visiting to experience something, or people looking to move into town – having things to do is a key part of feeling happy and connected in the place you call home.

While there are numerous benefits to having events – with the data almost verging on the edge of hyperbole because of the positive impact, it is also worth noting the complexities of this system as well. Because events are hard work. Working in events is intense. It is hugely changeable, often driven by small teams, and working in a very timebound manner. It can be huge hours, and while there is support at some scales, the support doesn’t always translate into those community initiatives. 

When you work at community scales, increasing costs and diminishing volunteer time also creates complexity. Our wonderful community event organisers do such a wonderful job of creating these experiences in local communities – sometimes those things that we love and have been a core part of our experiences as an audience. But those people also risk burn out if we don’t have the systems in place to support them. Utilising resources whether that is funding, or permits, or in-kind support to help make these things thrive.

When you work at very large scales, each little shift can have massive impacts with quick turnaround times. Having to address changes in weather, funding or sponsorship, or things like a pandemic or unexpected event mean having to rapidly adapt and to have very clear communication skills. And know that despite it being out of your control, there will be a bunch of passionate people annoyed at the event they were looking forward to being shifted or cancelled. We love events. They mean a lot to us. But we should also remember that the people organising them are doing their best work as well. 

But ultimately events are a magical thing.

• They are a space to immerse in a creative world.
• They are a place for awe and wonder. 
• A time set aside for spectacle and magnificence at every scale. 
• To shape worlds and hold dreams.
• To reach into your memories and emotions and create that moment of transcendence as your favourite artist plays your favourite song live right in front of you. 

It is a time and space where we truly become collective. Where we experience something new. Energies sync and society is cohesive and connected. 

This is a space for Collective Effervescence.

Collective Effervescence, a sociological concept coined by Émile Durkheim essentially describes the feeling of shared emotion and energy that occurs when individuals come together with a common purpose.  It can occur through things like singing along at a rock concert, or dancing during the headline DJ at a club set. It can also occur singing in a choir, or performing with a kapahaka rōpū – that shared energy when we become more than the sum of our parts. 

It seems that the collective effervescence enables a process of synchronization and intensification of emotions among individuals that occurs during participation in collective rituals. It can be considered a central component of collective behavior by which society empowers individuals to cope with the complexities of life.

When we share experiences of singing, moving, or speaking together, there is an inherent harmony that is induced by these experiences. When a group of people are in a similar rhythm and cadence together, there is a greater sense of emotional closeness and rapport. It is a form of connection that reinforces a sense of safety and comfort. 

Ultimately the key take away from this article is that we should all try to spend more time attending and participating in events of all different kinds. Sing the songs, dance freely, clap and cheer and enjoy the sharing of stories.

We see systems encouraging us to spend more time apart. More time viewing the world through devices. But each moment spent in a new real world experience contains value. It is a space for learning and discovering. 

It is a place to connect – even if tangentially through being in the same space and time.

Embrace the activity. Be less concerned with looking cool or worrying what other people may think, and spend more energy connecting with the experience. Listen to the music, find the rhythm, engage the senses. 

Our communities need events. We need people attending events. We need to support the people who run events so that more people can understand the wealth of activity that happens all around us. 

There is so much going on here. There is a plethora of creative people sharing stories. But there are a number of people who don’t understand the opportunities right here on their doorstep. 

Go to a show. Bring a friend. Bring someone new. Try an experience you might not know anything about and see what happens. New things can be wondrous. Even if they may not be exactly in our current preferences. Embrace the opportunity. Don’t know where to start? Things to do is the best place to explore.

This is joyful work.

Written by: Dr. Jeremy Mayall, Creative Waikato CEO