Celtic Connections and is an integral and vibrant part of cultural life in Glasgow, with the economic impact on the city reaching £5.8 million in 2007. The festival actively promotes artistic links and cultural exchange across countries, reinforced by Showcase Scotland which brought 200 music industry delegates from 35 different countries to Scotland looking to book Scottish bands for festivals abroad in 2008. The 2008 festival opened with the Common Ground concert where many of the artists taking part in the event performed together. Donald Shaw, artistic director of the festival, spoke about the future of Celtic Connections as well as the
Annual Avant Garde Festival of New York music scene that was emerging out of Fluxus. The inaugural festival was at Judson Hall and featured 28 composers which included John Cage and Morton Feldman. Notable performers at the Avant Garde Festival of New York included Charlotte Moorman, John Cage, Yoko Ono, Carolee Schneeman, Robert Delford Brown, John Lennon, Alison Knowles, Nam June Paik, Morton Feldman, Dick Higgins, Ray Johnson, Richard Kostelanetz, Bill Fontana, amongst others. Annual Avant Garde Festival of New York The Annual Avant Garde Festival of New York was an annual event that began in 1963 as an open forum for the emerging experimental music scene