| AVA Festival | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | audio and visual arts festival |
| Location(s) | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Years active | 2015 - |
| Founders | Sarah McBriar |
| Attendance | 16,000 (2022) |
| Website | avafestival |
The AVA Festival is a Belfast-based recurring event for the audio and visual arts, founded in 2015. AVA events have also been held in Holland, Great Britain, and India.
History
The festival was founded in 2015 by Sarah McBriar, brother of Matthew McBriar of Bicep, who following attending the Glastonbury Festival had wanted to bring a similar event to Belfast. The name AVA was derived as an acronym for Audio, Visual, and Arts. While the inaugural event was in Belfast in 2015, the festival has also been held in Mumbai, Amsterdam, Glasgow and London. The initial event had c. 1,500 attendees for a one-day event, which by 2022 had increased in time-span to be a weekend event with c. 16,000 attendees. In 2018 the event was held in an "old B&Q warehouse", the 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2021 the event was held at the Boucher Road Playing Fields in Belfast, and in 2022 AVA was held at the Titanic Slipway also in Belfast.
The event typically has performances from electronic dance music acts, which include both local "homegrown" and more internationally recognised musicians. Artists that have played at AVA include Holly Lester, Larry Heard, LSDXOXO, Orbital, and Bicep. The festival also includes talk and lectures. AVA has been described in the music press as "one of the world's most exciting electronic festivals", and has been credited as creating a "second age of rave" in Northern Ireland.
References
- ^ Fielding, Amy (4 July 2022). "How AVA Festival is creating a second age of rave in Northern Ireland - DJ Mag". DJ Mag. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Coleman, Maureen (22 January 2024). "Belfast-born music and arts festival bigger than ever after 10 years of growth". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ O'Reilly, Seamas (29 May 2018). "AVA Festival: the woman behind Belfast's Glastonbury – The Irish Times". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- "Our Story - AVA Festival 2024". AVA Festival. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
Since 2015, AVA has hosted over 100 events and festivals
- ^ McGoran, Peter (26 September 2021). "Review: AVA Festival makes its triumphant return to Belfast". Belfast Live. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Ahmed, Aneesa (29 June 2022). "Irish jewel: AVA is one of the world's most exciting electronic festivals - Features - Mixmag". Mixmag. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- Townsend, Megan (10 October 2021). "Review: AVA was a vibrant, euphoric but subdued return to raving in Belfast - Features - Mixmag". Mixmag. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.