How festivals mitigate the adverse effects of oppression for attendees: The case of the New Beginnings Festival

Abstract

Despite legislations designed to guard against racial discrimination in Australia, a number of studies have found that oppression and intolerance towards ethnic minorities still exist. For individuals, the consequences of oppression, marginalisation and being devalued include a sense of demoralisation, lowered self-esteem, anxiety and decreased quality of life. In spite of these adverse effects, marginalized individuals strive to respond adaptively to the stressors they encounter. As a form of leisure, it has been argued that attending events may help resist or overcome the deleterious effects of marginalisation, but empirical research is lacking. While different types of settings may help to facilitate an individual’s adaptive response to oppression, research into specific settings has largely been overlooked to date. Counterspaces are settings that promote the wellbeing of individuals who experience oppression by allowing them to challenge the societal narratives concerning their identities. Drawing on the Counterspace Framework and using the New Beginnings Festival as a case study, this paper seeks to understand how festivals may function as a counterspace in mitigating the adverse effects of oppression for attendees. The New Beginnings Festival is an initiative by the Settlement Services International (SSI), aiming to foster artists from refugee and migrant backgrounds to further develop their artistic practice and reach new and larger audiences. By promoting refugees’ and migrants’ cultural heritage and expressions, it fosters community cohesion, cultural exchange and appreciation of cultural diversity. The one-day festival features live music, dance performances, and food and market stalls with an array of international cuisines and cultural handicrafts. Data was collected in November and December 2018. Potential participants were approached at the festival on 3 November. Those who identified either as a refugee or migrant and who felt comfortable communicating in English were invited to take part in an interview after the festival and at a location of their preference. A total of 17 in-depth semi structured interviews were conducted. The interview data will be analysed using thematic analysis, with the three processes of adaptive responding to oppression, specifically (1) narrative identity work; (2) CTS 2019 acts of resistance; and (3) direct relational transactions used as a basis to code the data. Interview data will be supplemented with personal observations and documentations made by the researchers during the festival. This paper broadens our understanding of the leisure experiences of marginalised groups. Specifically, by focusing on refugees and migrants who are more prone to perceive a sense of oppression and marginalisation, the paper contributes to social justice and inclusion issues in the context of critical event studies. The findings also have important practical implications for event organisers in helping them understand how to generate more positive value for their attendees, and demonstrate the importance of multicultural, ethnic and art festivals to funding bodies such as government and community agencies.