Whenever an event management agency organizes an event, especially a cultural event, an awards show, or a festival celebration, they look for talented artists in the form of dancers, singers, musical bands, stand-up comedians, magicians, and whatnot. Making an event exciting for your guests without at least a couple of absolutely stunning performers is quite a task. And to be honest, nobody wants to attend a cultural event devoid of beautiful stage performances.
So, we are always on the lookout for new acts and new talents. Sometimes we hire local talents and sometimes we look for international artists, depending on the nature and scale of the event we are planning to organize. Hiring either of them has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. It’s always easier to work with local talents while international artists add more ‘value’ because of their popularity on a global level.
We have nothing against international artists but we believe that the event industry should make a more committed effort towards nurturing local talent. This would benefit our artists and our industry as well in the long run. Here’s why we need to invest more of our time, energy, and resources to nurture and hire local artists –
Introduce Your Audience to a New Culture
If your event is to be attended by foreign delegates or by those who are not familiar with the local culture of the place where the event in question is being organized, hiring local artists is a wonderful idea to introduce your guests to a completely new culture.
People travel thousands of kilometres, to exotic new destinations just to see a glimpse of a new culture. So, when you have the opportunity to give your guests this thrilling experience in your own hometown, why not make use of it?
If you want to introduce your guests to a new culture, it’s important to hire local talent who can perform traditional folk art, be it in the form of dance performances, countryside music or, local crafts. Make sure there are a lot of colours, traditional costumes, and stage art representing the local culture, as authentically as possible. And hire experienced local artists for such events and see your guests having an absolutely amazing time!
You’ll Be Helping Someone Realize His/Her Dream
Every international artist was a local artist at one point. Local events and competitions are the platforms where amateur artists get to test and hone their skills. Events like these are the occasions where they learn how to face an audience and how to present themselves professionally. More and more local platforms should be made available to young talented musicians, dancers, singers, actors, painters, and comics so that they can identify and nurture their skills from an early age itself.
When an event management agency hires a local performer or group of performers for their events, these artists get a chance to perform on a big stage, in front of a big audience, more often than not, for the first time in their lives. Not only, they get to perform in front of a live audience, but they get paid for their talent, as well. This gives them a huge boost of confidence in themselves and their skills.
Successful performances in events like these encourage them to take up their hobbies seriously and turn them into glorious careers in the future. This is why we feel that it’s super important to keep experimenting with new local talent for the events and cultural festivals we organize.
Hiring Local Talent is Always More Economical and More Eco-Friendly
When you decide to hire local talent, you won’t have to worry about arranging for their business class or first class flight tickets, or accommodations in expensive 5-star resorts and hotels. Even if you have to pay for their accommodation, you can opt for a simple arrangement rather than a luxurious one, which most of the international artists otherwise expect from an overseas event.
Plus, you can save big bucks on the fee of the artist itself. We will never encourage not paying the local talent at all – something many event companies are trying to get away with! What we are saying is that you don’t have to pay big amounts of money as the artist fee which is otherwise inevitable in case you hire an international artist. Pay an amount that you think is appropriate enough to keep the local artist(s) motivated and dedicated to give their absolute best on stage. That’s all!
Another wonderful advantage of hiring local talent is that it’s always the more eco-friendly alternative. The aviation industry is responsible for approx 5% of global warming. And when an international artist flies down to your destination, he/she is often accompanied by at least 5-10 other people who are members of their team. So, it’s always better to hire talent from your neighbourhood areas, instead. That’ll cost you less and will contribute to the well-being of the planet!
Conclusion
Since we live in times where the world seems to be connected and interconnected like never before, making connections with people who literally live on the other side of the world seems like such a simple task. Everything, from our business meetings to our everyday discussions seems to revolve around this global interconnectedness.
While this phenomenon is a wonderful change that has brought a sense of open-mindedness and an ability to perceive things from a wider perspective, it’s becoming a little crippling as well. We’ve started ignoring our roots, our own cultures, traditions, and folk art by being too enamoured by foreign talents and skillsets. It’s time to change this and bring a sense of balance to this current trend.
All we have to do is to commit ourselves towards nurturing local artists by encouraging them to develop their skills and by hiring them for the events we organize. This comes with a long list of advantages for them as individuals, and for the community as a whole as well. Give it a shot and let us know how it went in the comment section below.
Paviter Kumar Noori (0449 700 428)
Director Ecutas Productions
Writer of this blog Paviter Kumar Noori is a seasoned events management professional, who has experience in managing over 60 multicultural events in Australia and New Zealand.