Our Future

Our future is in your hands

Harrogate International Festivals has long been an ambitious organisation with entrepreneurial ideas for our future and a rugged determination to see them through. However, the funding landscape for the arts in the North of England continues to shrink. Whilst our approach of anticipating financial challenges has proved successful, we have no regular annual funding to plan beyond six months ahead and this has an impact on both the scale and reach of our delivery.

In short our ambition is hindered by our resource.

The Festival cannot stand still. We are determined to invest in our strengths of raising aspirations, creating opportunity and nurturing excellence.

People modelling the Theakston Crime festival tote bags.

Future Access

We are committed to creating access to the arts for the widest range of audiences and participants. This includes developing programs for those with the least access, keeping prices affordable or free for young people, building new audiences through innovative programs, and increasing engagement through live and digital experiences.

Future Bright

We will help transform the lives of disadvantaged children and young people by supporting them to achieve their full potential through engagement in the arts. This includes transforming opportunities for participation in literature, music, and science; supporting the rising stars of the future; taking creative risks to develop our future; and creating opportunities to develop talent regardless of background or genre.

Children in the audience at the childrens festival looking engaged, pointing and smiling.
Glow in the dark harp at Spiegeltent

Future Work

We take bold artistic risks by creating new work, commissioning projects, and allowing Guest Curators to fulfill their artistic vision. Additionally, we develop a body of work to engage the community and create new programs with an artistic legacy that makes a valuable contribution to Harrogate and beyond.

Future Festival

Philanthropic investment is now critical to the Festival being a sustainable organisation, with the ability to make full use of our artistic and cultural inheritance and create life changing opportunities in the arts.

The curtain has risen for an orchestra playing at the Royal Hall in the centre of the image. There are elegant golden walls with classical paintings hung high up on them. Projected on the walls is the Harrogate International Festivals logo.

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