Alright, so I decided to dive into finding the top art festivals around the globe. Why? Because I needed a vacation and figured, what better way to spend it than surrounded by art, right?
First off, I hit up Google, naturally. I started with broad searches like “best art festivals worldwide” and “top international art events.” This gave me a huge list – way too much to handle. So, I started narrowing it down.
Next, I thought about what kind of art I actually enjoy. I’m a sucker for contemporary stuff and anything a bit out there. So, I tweaked my searches to include “contemporary art festivals,” “experimental art festivals,” and “avant-garde art events.” This helped filter out some of the more traditional stuff.
I then started making a spreadsheet. Yep, old school. I listed the festival name, location, dates (if I could find them), and a short description. As I was going through the search results, I’d copy and paste info into the sheet. It was messy, but it was a start.
After that, I dug deeper into specific festivals that caught my eye. I visited their official websites, looked at past lineups, read reviews (both from critics and attendees), and even checked out their social media. You can tell a lot about a festival from its Instagram feed!
Here’s where it got interesting. I started looking for themes. Some festivals were clearly focused on emerging artists, others on established names. Some had a strong focus on performance art, others on visual arts. I used these themes to create categories in my spreadsheet.
To make sure I wasn’t just relying on websites and reviews, I also checked out some art blogs and forums. Places where actual art lovers hang out and discuss what they’re into. This gave me some insider tips and recommendations that I wouldn’t have found otherwise.
I also considered the location. Was it somewhere I actually wanted to travel to? Did it fit my budget? Was it easily accessible? I added columns to my spreadsheet for travel costs, accommodation options, and visa requirements (if applicable).
Finally, after hours of research, I had a short list of about five festivals that seemed really promising. I then did one last round of deep dives, comparing them side-by-side, looking at everything from the quality of the art to the overall vibe.
It was a ton of work, but now I have a killer list of art festivals to check out! Now to actually book that trip…
