On Precarity and Resilience – an Important Update on Mayfest and an Urgent Request for Support
Image by Paul Blakemore
A group of 200 people, sat on picnic tables, stools and cushions watch two people build an arch out of ice and concrete. It takes a long time. There is the hypnotic rise and fall of a singing chorus, a fire, the dripping of the ice as it begins to melt. Night falls. Passers-by stop and watch. Some stay for a moment. Some for an hour. Together we watch this precarious, beautiful structure, willing it to hold. And it does. After a while the singing stops and people begin to drift away, but still the arch stands. Or sometimes it falls.
Those final moments of a festival always feel more vivid somehow. We’re all tired, full to the brim with the sounds, feelings, memories of the things that have gone before.
As the dust settled on Mayfest 2024, we found ourselves thinking a lot about precarity. About vulnerability and care. About how bloody difficult it is to make something like this festival happen. The grit and determination of our team. The passion of our audiences.
This year’s Mayfest was a joy. But here’s the uncomfortable duality. The reality. In the background we were battling with rapidly rising costs (in some cases double our budgeted figures), partners facing economic challenges of their own, and a lower-than-expected box office. Despite our best efforts, we found ourselves stretched much too thinly.
As a result, we’ve had to really take stock of the level of jeopardy this kind of financial risk puts on us. Our commitment to Pay What You Can ticketing—something we firmly believe in to make our work accessible to as many people as possible—remains an important part of our ethos, however the financial return from ticket sales was significantly lower than expected, adding to the mounting pressures we’ve been facing.
And so over the last few months we’ve been doing some Big Thinking. And we’ve decided to not deliver a Mayfest programme in 2026. It takes more than two years to pull together the festival, and as we head into winter, we know that the risk is simply too great and the fundraising climate too challenging to be able to move into our next programming cycle confidently.
We haven’t taken this decision lightly. It’s the result of long conversations with each other, our team, our board and our stakeholders. This pause is a strategic choice, a moment to breathe, rethink, and regroup. We need to find new ways to continue creating the extraordinary experiences you have come to love.
But we also urgently need your help.
Much of MAYK’s vital work goes unseen—nurturing artists, hosting transformative residencies, an ongoing strategic advocacy for the importance of making supported space for contemporary performance. These are all part of an ecology that has been so instrumental in why we have the reputation that we do for producing innovative new work with care that shapes the cultural landscape of Bristol and the UK. That is why we’re launching a drive to raise £30,000.
There are a few ways that you can support us:
Become a MAYK Friend. If you’re able to, please consider signing up as a regular donor. You can do this from £5 per month and it’s super easy to sign up.
Make a one-off donation. Any amount, however small, will make an impact. You can donate quickly and easily through our website.
Spread the word. Share this blog, follow us on social media, sign up to our mailing list, tell your friends about our work. The greater the awareness, the more chance we have of reaching our goal.
And the good news is that we’re now a registered charity, which means we can claim an additional 25% on any donation at no cost to you. All you need to do is tick the Gift Aid button when you donate.
We're looking to the future with hope and determination. We passionately want MAYK to be able to continue to produce and present inspiring, celebratory experiences that bring people together. In all of our time doing this work we’ve never felt like the world needs joyful and thoughtful experiences of togetherness, beauty, reflection and solidarity more. And yet it's never been harder to make that happen. With your support, we can continue to do this. Thank you for believing in us, for standing by us, and for being part of this incredible journey.
Kate and Matthew
PS. If you would like to discuss other ways to support us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at matthewandkate@mayk.org.uk - we’d love to hear from you.