This week the city of Aarhus, Denmark kicked off its annual “Aarhus Festuge.” The festuge, or festival, is a celebration of culture, different generations and spotlighting the arts.
Alice Kazakov and Jasmijn Brasser
For a full week at the end of October there are new events being put on by the directors and partners at different locations in the city. In the months leading up to the event administrative coordinator Gemma Brotherton-Ratcliffe and her team of producers reach out to musicians and artists all over the globe to perform at Aarhus Festuge.
Ratcliffe explained that the benefit for artists to have contracts with the organization is more publicity, but for the organization and Aarhus itself it goes much deeper.
“We focus a lot on the younger generations here. We have to give [the festival] as a legacy to the younger generations and keep traditions. That’s what makes the Aarhus Festuge so wonderful,” she says, “we get to show the kids the arts and culture since the festival is so accessible to them.”
Volunteers
However none of the events at the Aarhus Festuge would be successful as they are without the help of the volunteers and seasonal staff. This year alone, the festival and organization has employed 240 volunteers, most of which are part of the older generations. Only 12 people are employed full-time and year-round.
The festival’s volunteers assist in a wide range of ways. Some act as delivery runners, clean up crew, public information assistants and more. Volunteers Nina Hjort & Claus Thristrup perked up when asked about their experience working at the festival.
“We like to think that we’re the nerve of this bigger body when we work. It’s all about the social chances here and getting to meet beautiful people every day,” Thristrup says. Hjort agrees with him and says “some of these volunteers have been around for a while. I look forward to the festuge every year.”
The volunteers hired by Aarhus Festuge must go through the same application and hiring process as any other job, but they are included in every step of the planning and setup required to kick off the festival.
“They’re not just extra arms and legs, they have a function,” Ratcliffe says lovingly, “we can’t make this festival without volunteers; they are an integral part to everything.”
Student Opportunities
Ratcliffe shares that some of the younger volunteers apply for an education experience as well as a social one. Students interested in business and administration can volunteer and shadow other coordinators and project contractors to get practical learning, and in return the organization gets different perspectives of how to improve the festival for future generations.
“We make an open call. Young producers get to own the scene for one day each for ten days and work with the contractors and musicians, things like that…” she says.
Though only a weeklong event, the Aarhus Festuge has a highly nuanced and collaborative process to create it. Staff, volunteers, students, vendors and more all put in their greatest effort at providing the community of Aarhus a memorable and meaningful experience.
“It’s going very well at the moment,” Ratcliffe emotionally says, “I walk around the park with a smile on my face. I just love seeing all the people […] it just makes me so warm in the heart to see the fruit of our labor.”