Sarah McBriar is founder and creative director of AVA Festival, the Audio Visual Arts festival which began in Belfast back in 2015.

AVA has since evolved into a Conference, Exhibition, Event Series, Industry Network, and Broadcast,and is now established across London, mainland UK & Ireland, with Sarah leading the way.

This conversation explores how she did it. How she created AVA back in 2015How she followed her passion and pivoted from sport into the world of music festivalsHow the AVA brand evolved and how the festival grew from a 1 day event with 2 stages to taking over the largest B&Q in Europe! The key things that you need to nail before you start a festival The importance of building a community- not only with your fans, but with your staff and artists too. Why you shouldn’t be aiming for big ticket sales in Y1Why being comfortable with change is essential in this industryThe positive changes we’ve seen in the industry, in terms of gender, and the long way we still have to go in achieving equality.

Sarah has built an incredible festival and brand and she generously shares her insights and experiences with us.So sit back and enjoy- there’s a lot to learn in this one!