Splore Director Amanda Wright

Amanda Wright describes how Splore has evolved from ‘a bunch of friends who liked to party and preferred to do it in the nature’ into a family friendly, fully integrated music and arts festival.

“Many of us have children now and a different focus with life, however there is a real need for events such as Splore where our creative community and culture can congregate and celebrate.”

Wright shares some of the challenges they have faced along the way to becoming a sustainable event, (financially and environmentally) and some of her event management tips.

“I have learnt that delegation, good direction and full trust of your team are vital to produce a good festival.”

The eighth Splore festival was on February 19 - 21 at Tapapakanga Regional Park.

What aspect of your creative practice gives you the biggest thrill?

Driving and creating the vision, putting the Splore jigsaw puzzle together and seeing people revelling in its full and final form.

How does your environment affect your work?

My work environment is pivotal for me really to excel. I need to surround myself with a great team of like minded people so we can drive the ship together. I am fortunate to be directing a festival in one of the most stunning festival sites in the world, so regular site meetings and days of planning at the Tapapakanga Regional Park are truly inspirational

Do you like to look at the big picture or focus on the details?

Big Picture – Details are delegated

What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?

Believe in your vision; always have a contingency and network, network, network!

When and why was the Splore Festival started? What was the founding vision?

New Years Eve 1998/1999 Karioatahi Beach – a bunch of friends who liked to party and preferred to do it in the nature, decided to do something of their own flavor/style. I had returned from an 8 year stint overseas where I had experienced and DJed at Goa/Burning Man and many outdoor European Festivals. I saw the potential of our beautiful landscapes, great people and culture and knew we had the right ingredients to do something pretty special here.

How has Splore evolved? How do you stay true to the original vision?

Splore has evolved in leaps and bounds over the years. The festival has gone from its early day as a dance party into a fully integrated music and arts festival with a plethora of diverse content. The music, art, performance, workshops and family friendly design of the festival ensures we have broader appeal to a wider audience. Many of us have children now and a different focus with life, however there is a real need for events such as Splore where our creative community and culture can congregate and celebrate. I truly believe that we have maintained the integrity of the event, but the original vision has shifted with the evolution of the event.   Myself and my business partner John Minty run Splore as a business so there has had to be some changes to ensure we turn over profit and keep our business and the festival sustainable.

How does Splore generate opportunities for New Zealand creatives?

Splore has been and continues to be a springboard for upcoming NZ talent who have gone onto become immensely successful, presenting the likes of Fat Freddy’s Drop, Tiki Taane and Hollie Smith in their debut festival performances.

We encourage and invite collaboration and cross genre projects to be presented in the unique environment of Splore. There have definitely been a number of leading edge projects and performances debuted at Splore that have ended up on the international circuit. Splore is a great place for NZ creatives to congregate, compare notes and showcase their talents to peers and audience.

What’s involved in the preparation? How has this been fine-tuned since it started?

John and I spend 12-18 months on researching content, submitting funding and consent applications. The full time work for me begins 8-10 months out from festival. We had a dedicated Business Manager who works on a strategic level with budgets and finances. The rest of team comes aboard at different stages in the last 4-6 months leading into the festival. The majority of the team are contracted in to manager the different key areas of the festival. The last 6 weeks leading into the festival we have 20 people in the full time team.

Since 2006 we have turned Splore into a well oiled machined with a team of passionate professionals. I have learnt that delegation, good direction and full trust of your team are vital to produce a good festival. Certainly I have learnt by successes and mistakes and with each Splore have fine-tuned accordingly.

What’s been the festivals biggest impact or success to date?

Success equals survival and growth while maintaining integrity. Splore is one of the only NZ owned and operated outdoor music and arts festivals that has survived and grown accordingly over 12 years. Feedback has indicated that Splore is up there with some of the best around the world and certainly I believe we are forging forward with content and direction. 

Securing acts such as Talib Kweli, Hexstatic, The Holiwater Project, Empress Stah and now Basement Jaxx have all had impact.

What have been some of the challenges (including a rough patch in 2004, and current economic climate) and how do you approach them?

Challenges are inevitable with events of this nature. The financial risk that John and I take is significant and frightening at times to be quite frank. No underwriters or corporate financial backing has ensured we run a tight ship and follow some clear guidelines. Admittedly the rough patch in 2004 when Splore nearly went under, kicked me into action to find a new business partner and investor. I was fortunate to have met John and approached him at the right time, however this meant shedding the old skin, reformatting and changing the business model. Splore now turns over a modest profit.

Without a doubt competitive events and the recession has had some impact. We continually try to keep ahead with content and practical solutions. One of our issues is the size of our event which has a maximum capacity of 8000 people on Tapapakanga Regional Park, this means we can’t get any bigger, however it does keep the boutique nature of the event in check.

Why is Splore’s ethos of sustainability personally
important to you?

I am a “total greenie” – probably thanks to my dairy farming father Brian, an active conservationist who would take me along as a child to protests to save native forests. It was instilled in me from a very young age about the significance of New Zealand’s beautiful landscape and the importance of looking after it.

In what ways is the festival ‘sustainable’? What challenges do you face to maintain this?

At the core of Splore’s ethos is sustainability. An event of this nature has the potential to leave a nasty carbon footprint from transport, energy and waste. We’ve worked hard to establish sustainable processes, from our office practices, to the festival site and with our sponsors and suppliers. We also work closely with the local community and businesses.

I am passionate about the home of Splore - Tapapakanga, an Auckland Regional Council Park. It simply is a piece of paradise and we are so extremely privileged to be in such a beautiful festival site, it is critical that we do everything we can to keep the park pristine and ensure our audience are aware of this.

While there is significant cost to the bottom line of the festival to reduce the negative footprint, there is a large portion of the audience that are already very environmentally aware - a large portion of our audience are gen X and they have grown up with an environmental conscience so they expect green initiatives from Splore - however they probably have no idea the lengths that we do go to in terms of cost and effort to implement our sustainability vision.

Do you think other festivals and events in New Zealand are also meeting this challenge? What needs to be improved?

They are starting to as councils put waste management policies in place for event organizers to adhere to. However it is the responsibility of the event organizers to really seek and implement solutions that are effective and reduce carbon footprint. We have a way to go in NZ.

Describe your role as Festival Director/Producer?

I oversee the overall creative direction of the festival in collaboration with my business partner John. John does the music programming and I do the rest of the festival. I do all the funding applications, consent processes and work alongside our sponsorship manager to secure sponsorship. I am the networker, the relationship builders and the driving force behind the vision. I pull together the team of fantastic individuals that coordinates the different aspects of the festival and  am the voice of Splore with publicity an media.

Splore is my baby that is just getting through it stroppy teenage years and maturing nicely into a sophisticated adult – Splore is all consuming and I am deeply passionate and committed to it, hence not being able to let go of quite yet.

Tell us a bit about your background. How did you get into arts and event management?

I returned to NZ in 1998 after being away for 8 years. I set up my own company called Mycelium which initially was a talent agency for street culture, performance and music. After instigating the first Splore and getting a foot in the door with Womad 1999, Mycelium went more in the direction of an event production company.  I ended up being involved in some capacity or another with events such as Pacifica, Festival of Performing Arts, Trash to Fashion, Womad, Lantern Festival where I continued to grow my skills in event management/production. My first big break came in 2002 when I was offered the Creative Director role for Waitakere City’s Trash to Fashion Awards which I did for 3 years. In between I carried on with Splore and my career as a freelance event director/producer has taken leaps and bounds over the years.

I love creative events, networking and making the magic happen which so often does with live events.

What, in your view, are some of the essential personal and professional skills and qualities required to be a successful event manager? What advice would you give to aspiring event managers?

Sheer determination and commitment. Good time management, people skills, and ability to work long and thankless hours. Event management is about starting at the bottom and working your way up, take any opportunity you can to gain experience and put yourself out there. There are some good event management courses out there(which I didn’t do), but the best thing for event management is practical work experience.

Be prepared to take some risks to really move forward to the next level, believe in yourself and network, network, network!!

What are some of the highlights of Splore 2010?

The Art programme is really going to another level this year – many projects have been specifically made for the site and audience by a diverse range of artists, designers, film makers and architects. Definitely watch out for The Time Machine and Cycle-powered cinema.

The Midsummer Nights Dream 2050 party on Sat night in the Living Lounge has been directed by Robin Rawstorne and includes Fuse Circus show The Navigators , performances by DeZaStah, Eve Gordon and Orchestra of Spheres.

The music line-up is diverse and eclectic – Basement Jaxx, Jamie Lidell and DubFX will all be shows to watch, having said that, pretty much everything on mainstage will be outstanding. The Gaslamp Killer and Nickodemus on DJ stage will be superb.

How do you measure success?

On a personal level - contentment and happiness. On a professional level positive feedback or recognition from peers and punters.  A sustainable business that has integrity and maintains my lifestyle.

What are your hopes and passions for the future of the festival?

I would love to be invited to take Splore to an international festival where it is a showcase event for NZ music/art and culture. I can see a Splore zone at Glastonbury/Big Chill or Bestival with full representation of NZ artists.

After the next Splore we will be assessing the future of Splore and what we can do with here in NZ, perhaps we could move it around and stage it elsewhere on the gap years or maybe there will be a time when we just put her out to pasture and let the legacy rest peacefully with memories of good times and wonderful experiences.

What are some of your upcoming plans and projects – your next big idea?

A sabbatical and/or, collaboration with international festivals and I am working on a big idea that has stemmed from Splore that potentially will be my retirement fund – stay tuned for that one.