Incubate Presspack 2010

Presspack Incubate 2010 1

PRESSPACK 2010 www.inCubAtE.oRg

Hermann Nitsch


Incubate is the annual celebration of independent culture in Tilburg, the Netherlands. It is a festival exhibiting a diverse view on indie culture as a whole, including music, contemporary dance, film and visual arts. It brings more than 200 cutting edge artists in an intimate context to an international audience. Black metal next to free jazz. Street art next to academic dance.

Incubate takes place from the 12th until 19st of September in the city of Tilburg in the Netherlands. From a bar to a nature theater. From music venue to museum.

Incubate doesn’t need slogans. It doesn’t want to be labeled. Incubate wants to clash cultures. Incubate isn’t just a ‘festival’, it’s a community of independent minds, a spot where curious people meet. It stretches further than the festival terrain, further than the boundaries of Tilburg. Incubate not only create a community through digital media but it also creates a whole new festival vibe.

it stretches further than the festival terrain, further than the boundaries of tilburg.

Visitors and artists from all over Europe recognize Incubate as their space. Germans rent a bus to come to Tilburg. An American moviemaker befriends an Italian composer and starts a new project. The discovery is the product. The artist, the visitor, the journalist, the volunteer and the organizer are an integral part of this feeling. But Incubate is more than a once in the year event. Throughout the year Incubate is an information centre of everything related to independent culture. It has three blogs: • www.inlog.org: about general independent culture • www.generationbass.com: blog about non-western dance music like cumbia, baile funk and kuduro • www.kicksforfree.nl: a blog about cultural businessBut we’re also very happy to give lectures in real time. We believe in giving back to the community we spawned from, so our complete business plans and fund applications can be found on www.socialfestivalmodel.org.

Our interest is how to use Web 2.0 in a cultural institution. The great thing on Web 2.0 is that it’s so easy nowadays. We are quite DIY and use a lot of funky, almost free geekstuff like Getharvest, Openorg and Twitter. We get a lot of questions on our job like “how do you build a community” or “what’s the use of your Social Festival Model?”

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009Number of days 2 2 8 8 8Number of artists 47 90 196 276 253Total nationalities of artists 9 9 14 35 25Number of locations 7 11 27 34 32Number of paid visitors 1.300 2.600 2.700 3.548 3.672Number of visitors free program 0 0 16.000 25.595 15.469Total blog visitors 0 0 0 0 650.787Number of own productions 0 1 17 12 16International presscoverage (countries) 2 3 10 7 8Number of mediapartners 1 2 10 14 15

Rummelsnuff, Incubate 2009


HistoryIncubate started in 2005 under the name of ZXZW. It was a two-day festival with 47 artists. It focused merely on artists that never got the chance at other Dutch venues. Within three years it developed into a festival which spreads over 8 days and over 200 artists. The unique mixture of independent music, arts, theatre and movies generates massive national (Nieuwe Revu, NRC-Next, Volkskrant) and international press (e.g. Belgium, Germany, America, France, England and Israel). Because ZXZW grew not only in size, but also in disciplines, the festival decided in 2009 to change its name into Incubate.

incubate wants to bring independent culture to a bigger audience.Awards

In 2008 the people of Tilburg voted for Incubate (ZXZW) as • the best event in their town.In 2009 Incubate won the Think Ahead Award for their • Social Festival Model.In 2009 Incubate was nominated for the ‘IJzeren • Podiumdier.’ An award for best festival of The Netherlands.

In 2009 two of the blogs of Incubate (inlog.org and • generationbass.com) were nominated for best blog of the Netherlands.

VenuesIncubate wants to bring independent culture to a bigger audience. Therefore it uses a lot of different venues. Music venues like 013 and Paradox, the library of Tilburg, galleries and museums like De Pont and Kunstpodium T, a church, a bowling alley and a lot of café’s in the centre of Tilburg. For one week a whole city will be dedicated to independent culture.

A selection of artists that performed incubateHermann Nitsch, Radio Birdman, Sun Ra Arkestra, The Damned, Wire, Monolithic, Japanther, Shining, Otto von Schirach, V/Vm, Sylvester Anfang, Pole, Talibam!, Black Earth, Joop Visser, Agent Side Grinder, Ceephax Acid Crew, Crippled Black Phoenix, Franko B, Jacob Kirkegaard, John Wiese, Taint, The Devil’s Blood, Mik Quantius, Hauschka, Negativland, Pantha Du Prince, Trad Gras Och Stenar, Rhys Chatham, Yoke & Yohs, Torche, The Locust, Rise and Fall, Psychic TV, Monotonix, Knut, Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat, Fear falls Burning, Drumcorps, Baroness, Amen Ra, Phill Niblock, Castanets, Watain, Enablers, Pelican, Erik Smith, Peter Beste, Mad Professor, Dananananaykroyd, Soap&Skin, Future of the Left

Sun Ra Arkestra, ZXZW 2008


Josine Beugels, ZXZW 2008Fritz Welch, Incubate 2009

Visitor profileIncubate draws visitors from all over the world with an healthy dose of interest in contemporary and independent arts. The festival caters the early adaptors but also the random passer-by.

origin of visitors(based on internetsales)NL: 85,38% BE: 3,51% DE: 6,43% UK: 2,92% FR: 0,58% LUX: 0,40% Other: 0,78%

Relationship44% in a relationship 26% Single 9% Married 2% Open relationship

Quality of festival Visitors gave Incubate festival a rate of 8,4 out of 10 for the overall experienceVisitors recommending Incubate to friends: 97,5 %

Age0 - 19 7,02%20 - 29 48,54%30 - 39 32,16%40 - 49 9,94%49 - 60 1,76%60+ 0,58%

Educational levelAn impressive 83% of our visitors went to University or attended Higher Education.

others about incubate “In the closing hours of the festival, the organizers relate their burgeoning plans for 2010: “Whatever we do, we want it to be completely different.” It’s this straightforwardly adventurous spirit that makes Incubate a joyous, if exhausting, experience, and it’s something from which UK festival organizers could learn.” (The Wire, dec. 2009, p. 79)

“The festival looks overwhelming. 120 groups in 2 days, plus films and art programmes? My God!” (Tony Herrington, Editor-in-Chief of The Wire magazine, 2007)

“The Incubate Festival (formerly the ZXZW fest) will bring a whole mess of iconoclastic artists from different disciplines to the Dutch city of Tilburg September 13-20. The truly impressive musical lineup includes Jandek, the Damned, Mad Professor, Joker, Future of the Left, James Blackshaw, Shackleton, Kayo Dot, Blues Control, and Anaal Nathrakh.” (Pitchfork.com, 2009) “And with damn near every last square inch of the city littered with preamps and patch cords, that can only mean one thing: a killer lineup.” (Pitchfork, 2008)

“The festival used to be called ZXZW but changed its name after getting a call from the distinctly more uptight SXSW people in Texas. Just in case anyone got confused and accidentally went to the lowlands in Europe instead of the Lone Star State. Anyway, I’m sure this is the superior experience whatever it’s called. It’s

“it’s innovative ideas like this that keep the festival scene interesting. And that’s not even mentioning the amazing artists from all over the world who headlined all of incubate’s intimate performances”


certainly my festival of the year alongside Capsule’s Supersonic in Birmingham. (It runs along similar lines, drawing in avant garde, experimental and extreme music as well as art and culture from the perimeter.)” (John Doran in The Quietus, 2009) “Formerly known ZXZW, Incubate is a truly original festival. While most festivals cover one specific type of entertainment, Incubate covers it all. Be it dance, art, music or film, this festival held nothing back and as a result, it is one of the most enjoyable festivals I’ve ever been to… It’s innovative ideas like this that keep the festival scene interesting. And that’s not even mentioning the scores of amazing artists from all over the world who headlined all of Incubate’s intimate performances, which placed black metal beside folk, electronica beside modern jazz, even pop beside poetry.” (Global Soundtracks, 24-09-09)

“After barely surviving a night of ‘Heavy Metal Bowling’, more out there than attack ships off the shoulder of Orion, it’s time to hit downtown Tilburg for an impossibly diverse bill. ZXZW festival operates like a transparent Temporary Autonomous Zone, tucked within venues around the centre, like a web of wonder hiding behind the ordinary local weekend hassle. (Terrorizer, 2008)

“Shining though the depressing morass of the now ubiquitous festival is a truly remarkable annual endeavor: Tilburg’s ZXZW, now in its fourth year. Put together with passion, wit, intelligence and a fervent integrity and commitment to independent culture (the festival’s subtitle), it redefines and simultaneously clarifies the potential for events of this ilk. (…)This festival truly is the most remarkable experience and needs to be witnessed by anybody who genuinely loves leftfield music and still holds a torch for the idea that independent culture can exist without having to compromise itself or secrete itself away in an elitist hidey hole. In a word, then, ZXZW is incredible.” (Drowned in Sound.com, 2008)

“In one year’s time, the festival in Tilburg has grown to one of the most fun happenings for adventurous music lovers and scouts for alternative talents. (...) Tilburg becomes the main meeting point for anyone who wants to be hip in 2010.” (OOR, 2008)

“ZXZW has grown very big, very fast” (Volkskrant, 2007)

“ZXZW already is the best festival of the year.” (LiveXS, 2007)

“ZXZW is a unique alternative festival where the mainstream Tilburg scenery (café’s, venues, etc.) goes hand in hand with the most eccentric and uncompromised in the music scene. A daring line-up of performers, bands, laptop artists and visual artists, but it works and the weekend was just mesmerizing, meeting up with highly intriguing and interesting people, witnessing fantastic shows and just dwelling through the streets of Tilburg from one venue to another.” (Fear Falls Burning on his blog, 2007)

“Leaving this festival felt a lot like being kicked out of musical heaven” (Harryparry in a reaction on the Drowned in Soundreview, 2008)

Amolvacy, Incubate 2009


ContACttijs Heesterbeek: +31 6 – 422 122 13 //

Erik Luyten: +31 6 – 102 988 77 //

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Erik Smith / Svart Kunstykke, ZXZW 2008

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Incubate Presspack 2010