Edinburgh Napier University

  This study proposes the application of photo-elicitation during interviews as an innovative and useful method of understanding the lived-experiences of contributors to festivals. In illustrating this, I describe this method, as applied to the context of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and its contributors. This was an approach of my previous PhD research (2007-2011) which was titled: Festival images: Brand image and stakeholders’ brand relationship types at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Todd, 2011).
As the world’s largest multi-disciplined arts festival the ‘Fringe’ is seen to articulate Edinburgh’s festivalisation and ‘festival city’ image in its sensory transformation into a space of cultural consumption (Richards & Palmer, 2010). Since its 1947 conception by independent performers, today’s Fringe witnesses thousands of performances across hundreds of venues. The contemporary Fringe continues its founding, open-access artistic policy, remaining centrally managed but not programmed (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2012). It attracts a range of contributors who co-construct Edinburgh’s eventfulness. These are the festival’s primary stakeholders who are employed, perform, manage venues, and attend: so their interactions contribute to its occurrence (Clarkson, 1995; Reid & Arcodia, 2002; Todd, 2010).
As a visual method, photo-elicitation enables appreciation of informants’ lived experiences (Banks, 2001; Collier, 1957; Harper, 2002; Heisley & Levy, 1991; Pink, 2007; Prosser & Loxley, 2008; Rose, 2007). Used in sociology, anthropology and consumer research, it is increasingly applied in tourism, where photographic images are central to experiences (Andersson Cederholm, 2012; Scarles, 2012). This study proposes extending photo-elicitation to the festivals’ context: where creation, projection and collection of images become functional and symbolic representations of contributors’ lived experiences.
I open with a review of photo-elicitation research and methods across disciplines. Then, within the setting of the Fringe and its contributors, I describe the process of photo-elicitation interviews with a phenomenological perspective (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009). In providing this account, I highlight the photo-elicitation process; and provide a flavour of contributors’ rich experiences of the Fringe uncovered by my previous research using this method. The significance of this study is its proposal of photo-elicitation as an original and useful means of gaining in-depth insights into the lived-experiences of festival contributors. While specific to the Fringe, implications are significant within the wider context of festival and event management. My study concludes by highlighting prospective applications and analytical potentials of photo-elicitation as a visual method in festivals and events research; and the consequent impacts of photo-elicitation upon informing future management practices.