Identity, place and values. On construction and internalization of festival normalities on the examples of music festivals in Poland

Aleksy Szymkiewicz

doi:10.23858/jue19.2021.010

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to compare of how two different festivals stimulate specific norms and perceptions, and therefore to present the way in which the visions of the festival cities are reproduced by the festival audience based on the axio-normative orders contained in the missions of the events. Based on the shared symbols and life strategies promoted by festivals, participants (re)build their identity which they manifest in chosen cultural practices. The article attempt to answer the following question: what is shared by festival-goers? Are the main motivations for participating in the vent due to shared musical tastes or also specific values and lifestyles, and consequently a common identity? It has been shown that the values promoted during festivals are declared by their organizers – they are present in the visual identification, seminars, workshops, etc. Festivals create their narratives based on symbols such as logos, attitude smartphones, or festival slogans which contain condensed axio-normative systems that create the boundaries of the community. It influencesthe behavior of festival goers: the city’s vision, ways of spending free time, and their identity. The places where the fieldwork was conducted were: “Henryk Rasiewicz National Festival of Unbreakable and Independent Songs in Kraków”, “Ostróda Reggae Festiva” in Ostróda, and the “Song of Our RootsFestival” in Jarosław.

Highlights

The aim of this paper is to compare of how two different festivals stimulate specific norms and perceptions, and to present the way in which the visions of the festival cities are reproduced by the festival audience based on the axio-normative orders contained in the missions of the events
In light of the above, can we say that smartphones offer us a hidden narrative about the “Song of Our Roots” festival in Jarosław, its space and life strategies? For its participants, tradition is the axis of identity and the backbone of the story that they tell during the annual event, while smartphones are a symbol of the unfavourable changes that have come along with modernity
Their story is about the search for this identity among the walls of the old city, churches, basilicas and the monastery, where some of the participants sleep

Summary

Introduction

The aim of this paper is to compare of how two different festivals stimulate specific norms and perceptions, and to present the way in which the visions of the festival cities are reproduced by the festival audience based on the axio-normative orders contained in the missions of the events. Based on the shared symbols and life strategies promoted by festivals, participants (re)build their identity which they manifest in chosen cultural practices. It has been shown that the values promoted during festivals are declared by their organizers – they are present in the visual identification, seminars, workshops, etc Festivals create their narratives based on symbols such as logos, attitude smartphones, or festival slogans which contain condensed axio-normative systems that create the boundaries of the community. It influences the behavior of festival goers: the city’s vision, ways of spending free time, and their identity. We are sitting on chairs, stones, curbs and a low wall

Objectives

Conclusion