In just three years, Aerowaves has evolved from a Network to a Platform - Spring Forward. This development has been a strategic response to artists’ need to reach more audiences through increased performance. After festivals in Ljubljana, Bassano del Grappa and Zurich, members will gather in Umeå in April to see 20 pieces from 20 countries that were under discussion at their selection meeting last October. Recently, 100 performances a year have resulted for Aerowaves artists without the incentive of additional funding.

During the next three years, many of these performances will be consolidated with match funding, encouraging some members with limited resources to act as Presenters for the first time. This stability is essential in order to sustain further growth. As programmers beyond the network visit Spring Forward, respond with enthusiasm, and offer their own invitations, so the number of unforeseen performances will grow. Further audience development for both Spring Forward and subsequent year-round presentations will depend on directing resources to promoting Aerowaves as a trusted brand. It will be projected as a European endorsement of quality. In doing so we continue to believe that local Presenters best understand their public, but hope to equip them better through shared resources.

The fundamental strategy is to communicate Aerowaves’ endorsement as a badge of European quality. Artists selected as Priority Companies and most especially for performance at Spring Forward will bear this endorsement on their promotional material. Presenters will be able to assure their audiences that these artists are from the top of the tree. There are stories here, not just when cross-border events come to town, but also when a local artist is selected for Aerowaves’ promotion on the European scale. Presenters will gain authority when communicating Europe-wide associations through the Platform. Finally, the audience will have increased by 5,000 and the events by 20.

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