#inspirationdate | a cappucino with Matt Ravier
Matt Ravier has a reputation for putting on creative, innovative, and most importantly outrageously fun events like Jurassic Lounge, so we were kinda pumped for our date with him this morning.
The lovely Canadian (French born) man we sat down with at Reuben Hills
spoke of the importance of being generous with time, energy and ideas.
It became more and more obvious that he isn’t just saying that; his
modus operandi is one of collaboration and collective creativity.
He’s a smooth but humble operator of a company that will succeed because it is equipped for the future. 'The Festivalists' are a true learning organisation
where (unlike most event production outfits) they build skills
internally in order to create enriching experiences for their team, and
allow this team a hand in shaping the company as well as their own
careers.
Matt's
super brain knows that the landscape of events and experiences is
constantly shifting and he needs to reassess the relevance of his work
year on year to keep it fresh. Another key that keeps his events on the
cutting edge is protecting creative independence. He works hard to
create safe environments for artists to be able to give 100% and never
have their art or creativity compromised, he designs projects to ensure
the integrity of ideas and concepts are never subject to constraints
from sponsors or stakeholders, and he nurtures the creative independence
of his team. In fact, he even incorporates the creative input of
audiences into his events.
Matt’s
famously unique experiences are this way because visitors are given the
opportunity to shape the event. A user-generated program (if you will)
and an on-the-night interactive scenario is achieved simply by inviting
the audience to give instant feedback on the event via twitter and other
channels. He notes that an awesome way to show that an event organiser
cares (for example, if the line at the bar is too long, if a talk is
dragging on) is to actually read tweets, respond on the spot to
requests, and make the night itself a constant conversation between the
artists, the event producers and the audience.
Equally,
audiences contribute to future programming and event ideas, letting
everyone be part of the creative process and have an event feel like
it’s ‘their night’. This - as Matt puts it - means they fall in love
with the event, have some ownership over it, tell their friends to come,
and do your marketing for you.
One
of Matt's social missions is to break down the barriers between high
and low brow culture and make art accessible by putting a fun or
interactive experience around it. We learn of this philosophy that put
pole dancers, chocolatiers, spoken word poets and 'dino wars' in the
same room at the Australian Museum for Jurassic Lounge. 'A playful
environment' he says, 'will help to demystify challenging art and
facilitate a dialogue'. This is important because, according to Matt,
exposure to art and culture helps people become their full and real
selves.
Another social mission behind The Festivalists - a not-for-profit organisation - is socially inclusive experiences. 'Young at Heart' is a seniors film festival, and 'Access All Areas'
is a festival where blind people are able to watch film by having the
action narrated by actors, and films show in theatres where rows of
seats are removed to accommodate wheel chairs. The best bit: it's just
like any other film festival. 'There are still Q&A's, drinks,
parties and conversations about film'.
Matt and The Festivalists are also behind The Courtyard Sessions, The Sydney Film Festival Hub, Kino Sydney (an 'open mic short film night'), Possible Worlds (Sydney's Canadian Film Festival) and a whole suite of events changing Sydney's film and arts culture for the better.
For
Matt, Sydney is an easy place to live and work because our economic and
creative climate is currently one where people want you to succeed, ask
what they can do to help, and 'there's still lots to be done'. Yes,
there is a long way to go for Sydney, although a shift is well under
way. And while the recent change in Sydney’s cultural life seems to have
come on suddenly, it has come as a result of people like Matt working
to create events like these for more than 7 years.
We
look forward to working with this guy whose personal beliefs have
translated into awesome events that are shaping life in Sydney. And a
guy who has lofty ideals, but also knows that events are about a good
time, and knows how to throw a mean party.
