Festival Focus 2026 at SO Festival, Skegness

Festival Focus offers a unique blend of festival immersion and professional development. You’ll work closely with the OAUK team, gaining direct access to festival organisers and artists, and receive personalised development guidance. We’ll curate a shared viewing experience of key shows, followed by structured networking events where we will facilitate introductions and connections. We’ll prioritise cohort learning, creating dedicated spaces for discussion, Q&As, and informal knowledge sharing. This begins with a welcome session before the first performances and is followed by a group dinner, establishing a collaborative and supportive environment.

Festival Focus is for artists, producers, programmers, funders, or local authority staff who are committed to working in or supporting the Outdoor Arts sector. We welcome applications from a cross-section of career levels. We limit the size of each cohort to 10 – 15 individuals to ensure each cohort get to know each other and to that everyone has a high-quality experience.

At SO Festival in Skegness, we’ll learn about how Magna Vitae involve the local community at all levels of the festival, their long-term artist development plans, and their international ties with Passage Festival in Denmark. You can also apply for Festival Focus at Freedom Festival, Fri 4 Sep – Sun 6 Sep.