Adelaide Fringe Festival
Encyclopedia
The Adelaide Fringe Festival is an arts festival
held annually in the South Australia
n capital of Adelaide
. The event is the Southern Hemisphere's largest arts event and the second-largest fringe festival
in the world, second in size only to the Edinburgh Fringe
. Prior to the year 2007, the Adelaide Fringe was a biennial event, occurring in even-numbered years to coincide with the Adelaide Festival of Arts.
The festival is run over 24 days and nights in February and March of every year and includes hundreds of cabaret, comedy, dance, theatre, music, and visual arts events. Festival highlights include an opening night party, parade and concert, street theatre, the Garden of Unearthly Delights and Fringe Family Weekend.
The AFF attracts interstate and overseas visitors: 18% percent of the Fringe’s 1,004,440 audience members are visitors to the city.
As an open-access festival, anyone can perform or apply. Artists pay a one-off registration fee to the Fringe as well as pay the presentation costs of their performance, season, event and/or exhibition. To help participating artists present their work, the Adelaide Fringe provides information and, wherever possible, facilitates.
In 2010 the Adelaide Fringe, Festival of Arts and WOMADelaide
are all occurring over the same three week period.
The Adelaide Fringe is governed by the Adelaide Fringe Board.
Today, the AFF occurs yearly. Although the Fringe and Festival of Arts are inextricably linked, their operating organisations are separate, with different philosophies and intent.
Artists from across the globe participate alongside home-grown talent, in all art forms. Adelaide Fringe also organises its own public events.
The Adelaide Fringe does not actively seek out the events which form part of the Fringe Program and thus a vast variety of different performances can be seen. Typically the Adelaide Fringe is dominated by comedy and visual arts performances, although music, cabaret, dance and theatre also have numerous performances. It is not uncommon for one performance to contain a variety of different genres.
Since the very first Fringe, venues across the city and surrounds have been supporting artists by providing or transforming their venues into visual and performing art spaces.
In 2009, over 250 venues opened their doors to Fringe performing and visual artists. These venues ranged from the 2000 seat theatres to the corners and function rooms of pubs, clubs, council buildings, outdoor venues, churches, cinema’s and the odd alley way.
Because of Adelaide's very strict street layout within a square mile, venues are close together, forcing patrons to cross paths on the city streets. The city's surrounding parks provide venues outside of the established and converted venues within the city itself. With the Adelaide Festival
and Adelaide Writers' Week
all sharing the same spaces, there is significant opportunity for patrons to participate in events in all three festivals in those years they all run.
In 2009, over 530 performing and visual arts events were staged in over 250 venues across the city. Over 3000 artists registered, undertaking over 5000 individual performances, from 15 minute performances to multi-day events. There were over 1,000,000 attendances to Fringe events/venues across the 24 days of the festival.
. The latter was seen to offer limited opportunity for local and smaller-scale artists. The Adelaide Fringe is an open access event, allowing anyone with ideas and enthusiasm to register in the program, and so to showcase their arts to the public. For many years the two events were inextricably linked and together created an atmosphere of electric excitement across the city. From 2007 onwards, the Adelaide Fringe became an annual event in its own right.
Arts festival
An arts festival is a festival that focuses on the visual arts in all its forms, but which may also focus on or include other arts.Arts festivals in the visual arts are exhibitions and are not to be confused with the commercial art fair. Artists participate in the most important of such festival...
held annually in the South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n capital of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. The event is the Southern Hemisphere's largest arts event and the second-largest fringe festival
Fringe theatre
Fringe theatre is theatre that is not of the mainstream. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which name comes from Robert Kemp, who described the unofficial companies performing at the same time as the second Edinburgh International Festival as a ‘fringe’, writing: ‘Round the fringe...
in the world, second in size only to the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
. Prior to the year 2007, the Adelaide Fringe was a biennial event, occurring in even-numbered years to coincide with the Adelaide Festival of Arts.
The festival is run over 24 days and nights in February and March of every year and includes hundreds of cabaret, comedy, dance, theatre, music, and visual arts events. Festival highlights include an opening night party, parade and concert, street theatre, the Garden of Unearthly Delights and Fringe Family Weekend.
The AFF attracts interstate and overseas visitors: 18% percent of the Fringe’s 1,004,440 audience members are visitors to the city.
As an open-access festival, anyone can perform or apply. Artists pay a one-off registration fee to the Fringe as well as pay the presentation costs of their performance, season, event and/or exhibition. To help participating artists present their work, the Adelaide Fringe provides information and, wherever possible, facilitates.
In 2010 the Adelaide Fringe, Festival of Arts and WOMADelaide
WOMADelaide
WOMADelaide is an annual world music and dance festival, which was first held in 1992 in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia as part of the WOMAD series of music festivals. WOMAD events are a showcase of different sorts of music, arts and dance. They encourage people to experience the music of...
are all occurring over the same three week period.
The Adelaide Fringe is governed by the Adelaide Fringe Board.
History
The first Adelaide Fringe Festival, in 1960, came about when a few artists decided to stage their own event in response to the exclusion of many artists from the curated Adelaide Festival of Arts. It continued to be held bianually, and in 1975 the AFF became an incorporated association. In 2007 the AFF became an annual event.Today, the AFF occurs yearly. Although the Fringe and Festival of Arts are inextricably linked, their operating organisations are separate, with different philosophies and intent.
Artists from across the globe participate alongside home-grown talent, in all art forms. Adelaide Fringe also organises its own public events.
The Adelaide Fringe does not actively seek out the events which form part of the Fringe Program and thus a vast variety of different performances can be seen. Typically the Adelaide Fringe is dominated by comedy and visual arts performances, although music, cabaret, dance and theatre also have numerous performances. It is not uncommon for one performance to contain a variety of different genres.
Venues
The Adelaide Fringe is Australia's largest open access festival hosting thousands of artists from Adelaide, Australia and the world, all needing a space to present their work.Since the very first Fringe, venues across the city and surrounds have been supporting artists by providing or transforming their venues into visual and performing art spaces.
In 2009, over 250 venues opened their doors to Fringe performing and visual artists. These venues ranged from the 2000 seat theatres to the corners and function rooms of pubs, clubs, council buildings, outdoor venues, churches, cinema’s and the odd alley way.
Because of Adelaide's very strict street layout within a square mile, venues are close together, forcing patrons to cross paths on the city streets. The city's surrounding parks provide venues outside of the established and converted venues within the city itself. With the Adelaide Festival
Adelaide Festival of Arts
The Adelaide Festival of Arts is an arts festival held biennially in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Although locally considered to be one of the world's greatest celebrations of the arts, that is internationally renowned and the pre-eminent cultural event in Australia, it is actually...
and Adelaide Writers' Week
Adelaide Writers' Week
Adelaide Writers' Week, held in the capital of South Australia and considered one of the world's pre-eminent literary events, is a traditional part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts fortnight where attendees meet and discuss literature with Australian and international writers in "Meet the Author"...
all sharing the same spaces, there is significant opportunity for patrons to participate in events in all three festivals in those years they all run.
Ticket Prices
The Fringe includes free and priced events. Details regarding the free Opening Night Street Party, Fringe Family events and more appear in the first few pages of the Fringe Guide, which is released in January of each year. Priced events vary.Artists
The Adelaide Fringe allows any type of artist, national or international, to perform, interact and play with their audiences.In 2009, over 530 performing and visual arts events were staged in over 250 venues across the city. Over 3000 artists registered, undertaking over 5000 individual performances, from 15 minute performances to multi-day events. There were over 1,000,000 attendances to Fringe events/venues across the 24 days of the festival.
Poster Competition and Launch
Amongst the festival's events is the announcement of the nation-wide poster competition winner, and the launch of the winning poster.Fringe facts and past events
The Adelaide Fringe began in 1960 as an alternative to the 'mainstream' Adelaide Festival of ArtsAdelaide Festival of Arts
The Adelaide Festival of Arts is an arts festival held biennially in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Although locally considered to be one of the world's greatest celebrations of the arts, that is internationally renowned and the pre-eminent cultural event in Australia, it is actually...
. The latter was seen to offer limited opportunity for local and smaller-scale artists. The Adelaide Fringe is an open access event, allowing anyone with ideas and enthusiasm to register in the program, and so to showcase their arts to the public. For many years the two events were inextricably linked and together created an atmosphere of electric excitement across the city. From 2007 onwards, the Adelaide Fringe became an annual event in its own right.
- Adelaide Fringe is an open access event which means that anyone can take part.
- The full line-up for the 2010 Adelaide Fringe will be available when the Fringe guide is distributed on Saturday 9 January 2010.
- The first Adelaide Fringe activity recorded in 1960 included a mixture of 60 official and unofficial events.
2007
- At the first annual Fringe in 2007 130,000 tickets were sold through the FringeTIX box office system – with an additional 10,000 ticket sales by national ticketing partners.
- 2007 poster winner: Ryan Stephens
2008
- 187,000 tickets were sold through the FringeTIX box office and their national ticketing partners.
- Final box office income was estimated to reach over $5.3 million – a majority of which revenue was passed back to Fringe artists.
- 281 Fringe venues soled tens of thousands of tickets on the door
- Family Day became Family Weekend and doubled in size and attendances.
- 2008 poster winner: Hat Morgan.
2009
- Ticket sales equalled 2008’s Fringe with over 187,000 tickets sold through FringeTIX and other national ticketing partners (which doesn’t include tickets sold at the doors of 259 venues to walk-up Fringe-goers).
- In 2009, 2800 artists brought life to 508 events in 250 venues across the city.
- In 2009 Adelaide Fringe featured 508 comedy, theatre, music, dance and visual art shows.
- 2009 poster winner: David Blaiklock
2010
- The Adelaide Fringe celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2010
- 2010 poster winner: David Capriotti
See also
- List of festivals in Australia
- Adelaide Writers' WeekAdelaide Writers' WeekAdelaide Writers' Week, held in the capital of South Australia and considered one of the world's pre-eminent literary events, is a traditional part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts fortnight where attendees meet and discuss literature with Australian and international writers in "Meet the Author"...
- Adelaide Festival of ArtsAdelaide Festival of ArtsThe Adelaide Festival of Arts is an arts festival held biennially in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Although locally considered to be one of the world's greatest celebrations of the arts, that is internationally renowned and the pre-eminent cultural event in Australia, it is actually...
- South Australian Living Artists Festival (SALA)South Australian Living Artists FestivalThe South Australian Living Artists Festival is an annual free visual arts festival in the city of Adelaide.The SALA festival includes open art studios, moving-image based art, and public art events across South Australia....