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Published on November 15, 2007

 The success of an international arts festival is not due solely to one person's artistic vision and dedication. Generous financial and efficient administrative support from the local and foreign government agencies help of course, as does sponsorship by local and international corporations - and then there's the participation by artists and audience.

But much of the credit for the smooth running of last month's Melbourne International Arts Festival must go to its artistic director, the American artist and curator Kristy Edmunds, whose year-round work from 2005 to 2008 involves shaping up this annual international showcase of contemporary arts.

In a recent interview with The Nation, she shared some secrets behind this success story.

"Curatorially, my background, even before I came to Australia, has always been working with the living artists, the contemporary artists. For me, the festival is about presenting works that are really making waves in different parts of the world, because they expand the possibilities of their art forms. And I think it's important that people have access to the artworks that reflect our time in various ways.

"While my [festival organiser] colleagues 'go shopping' by attending other arts festivals, I tend to look for something more specific. I stay very close to artists even when they just have an idea at the beginning. Then I'll track them along - I see them in rehearsals and developments, as well as the finished works. I probably see, in some stage of development, about 300 arts projects a year [around the world]. At any given time there are about 200 projects that I'm working on."

"It helps me know how best to advocate for them in their countries for their funding, etc. I often know what they're trying to do. That helps me when I come back here and begin the process of cultivating the audiences that are going to be really well-matched for the projects.

"I don't start a festival, finish it, and then begin the next one. Like this one ... some projects have been three years in the making. For me, the progress of the festival is evolving because of what the artists are making.

"At least in Australia, an international arts festival should be multi-arts and multi-venue. It is our responsibility. Some audiences may say, 'I like dance: I just want to go to dance performances.' But the ideas from a dance choreographer, a music composer, and a theatre director can be connected. For me, having multiple art forms in there gives the audience a chance to jump across and see from a different aesthetic vocabulary a different form of art but with similar concerns. I try to make the festival interdisciplinary so that everyone, both audiences and artists, can find their way in."

"The 17 days of this October festival in Melbourne is an important opportunity for the public to connect to what's happening in other parts of the world in terms of the arts. In the remainder of the year, the ongoing symphony, opera, ballet, and theatre scenes are very alive, but they are predominantly Australian, except for the international tours of foreign artists. With the festival, I'm trying to create a convergence of extraordinary creative talents and what's happening here. It's a way for a lot of people to come here and 'explode' their creativity."

"For next year, 75 per cent of the programmes are complete. I know what the projects will be, and then it's like assembling puzzle pieces, choreographing what's in the opening and centre weeks, and what the audience has already been exposed to and what's coming next. Although I can't reveal the names at this moment as none have been contracted, there will be lots of contemporary works by master and emerging artists."

The Melbourne International Arts Festival 2008 is scheduled for next October 9 to 25. Visit MelbourneFestival.com.au.

Special thanks to the festival's publicist, Lior Albeck-Ripka, for her help in arranging this interview.

Pawit Mahasarinand

 The Nation