Holmfirth Arts Festival: Director

Holmfirth Arts Festival is a celebration of music, art, comedy, theatre, literature and inspiring things to do in the market town of Holmfirth and the surrounding Holme Valley. It reflects the character and history of the area, with a unique local resonance, while being ground-breaking and ambitious, so this is a great opportunity to build a local festival of regional and national significance.
The board see this as an excellent opportunity for the new director to embrace the wide variety of grassroots talent within the valley and seek a new direction for the festival, by building connections with the broad range of businesses in the town. Creating a festival that celebrates the local heritage as well as the emerging artists of the Holmfirth area.
You will have strong programming and project management experience, fundraising experience (including from Arts Council England/ Heritage Lottery Fund and Trusts/ Foundations, as well as sponsorship), a history of sound budget management and a good understanding of audience development. You’ll also be able to work on your own initiative as well as with a board and volunteers. This is a freelance contract for an initial 24 days at £250/day (£6K) to enable handover and fundraising for the 2027 festival. Thereafter, we intend to offer a further freelance contract based on an annual fee of c.£22,500, tbc based on an estimated 90 days per year at £250 per day, subject to funding being available.