A few years ago, Winnipeg composers Heidi Ugrin and Luke Nickel were talking with some friends about how Winnipeg doesn’t have very many new music groups, at which point they turned to each other and simultaneously had an epiphany: “We should start our own festival!”

And so they did.

The Cluster New Music and Integrated Arts Festival is a three-day annual event in March dedicated to providing contemporary artists from around the world with a platform to present their work and to collaborate with other artists.

“We focus on the idea of giving artists the space of something they want to do. We’re not interested in being the festival head honchos,” said Nickel, co-director of the festival.

The second annual Cluster Festival will be held from Thursday, March 24 to Sunday, March 26 and will take place in a different venue each night.

Each night features established artists as special guests, such as Trio 86, Giorgio Magnanensi, Freya Olafson and Alexandra Fol, in addition to a diverse mix of emerging artists.

The festival features pipe organ, intermediary performances, a fort built by University of Manitoba architects for people to play in and culminates in a massive dance party.

Its goal is to offer a unique experience to artists and attendees alike.

Since the festival’s programming is so diverse, scheduling the performances in a particular order and making the festival cohesive without too much structure was important to Ugrin and Nickel.

One of the ways they did this was to let the venue inform the mood of the evening.

The first night of the festival will take place in a church, which, Nickel said, “highlights the majesty of the venue, but also the introspection of it.”

The 22-year-old says he and Ugrin, 25, have poured their blood, sweat, tears and the contents of their wallets into this festival in order to make it happen, but believe it’s well worth it.

“It’s life tuition,” he said.

The two have supplied most of the funding for the event, in addition to being the two key organizers responsible for everything from media promotion to running the technology.

The sponsors they do have, however, have no control over the festival’s programming since both Nickel and Ugrin feel that would take away some of the event’s integrity.

They also believe that it is extremely important that every artist who performs is compensated for their work, which they make possible through private funding applications.

Making sure people know about the festival is the main obstacle in ensuring that Cluster is a lasting Winnipeg event.

Nickel and Ugrin will be having a Cluster-related event every three months throughout the year in order to maintain its presence in the community.

Ultimately, though, Nickel said it boils down to “making it good and maintaining the same level of personal dedication.

“(Cluster Festival) is going on different principles than other festivals,” he explained. “It’s not ‘What’s going to make people come?’ – it’s ‘Make it good and people will come.’

“Not what people like, but what people need to see.”

Visit http://www.clusterfestival.com.

Published in Volume 65, Number 24 of The Uniter (March 24, 2011)