En mötesplats fylld av mening : En studie om gemenskap och samarbete i skapandet av Arvikafestivalen

Sammanfattning: This thesis explores what happens when people come together to pursue a common goal. It points to the importance for individuals to be part of a social context that they have chosen and how this belonging in turn can impact on the place where the phenomenon occurs. The basis of the study is the organisation of the once popular Arvika Festival as a social meeting place. The festival was created from a bottom-up perspective in a basically non-profit context. The aim of the thesis is to explain how positive social effects are created through the relations established in the process of arranging a festival and how these in turn become part of place-making. Interviews were conducted with persons who have worked in the festival organisation since the start in 1992. The analysis is essentially based on their experiences and observations. The importance of Arvika’s cultural heritage for the emergence of the festival is also discussed.The concept of social capital is used as a theoretical tool to describe and discuss the social context of the festival organisation and its external relations. The relations, contacts, and links created are further described and discussed in terms of the activity space of the festival organisation and how this overlaps and becomes part of the activity space of other actors. Place is approached from a relational perspective, which does not exclude meaning. The Arvika Festival carried meaning and significance while creating a sense of placeThe study shows that the Arvika Festival was important to many people and generated new processes. A tolerant environment for new ideas was created. A strong sense of community was developed in the course of planning and working together. The contacts and experiences that the individuals acquired in the making of the festival have left imprints on the place, Arvika. What started out as doing something for fun turned out to do so much more.