By: Alexis Slavicek
The National Fringe Fine Arts Festival is known worldwide for being the biggest arts festival in the world. It has been going on since 1947, after World War II, when Europe needed color back into the lives of all its people. The event lasts for three weeks during August in Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh.
The city works hard on this event all year long for the most part, Oliver Davies, head of marketing and development for the Fringe Society, told the Point Park group. This year it is emphasizing its inclusiveness and accessibility for performers and audience members. The cool thing about the Fringe is, anyone is welcome to put on a show as long as a venue will allow them, he said.
In the past people have performed in taxi cabs, phone boxes, alley ways, etc. So, basically if artists have something you want to perform, they can perform it. The Fringe is all about expressing creativity in whatever way possible. The call for artists, writers, producers, technicians, journalists, arts industry professionals, anyone who could have a hand in coming together to create something the world has never seen before, is spread far and wide each year, Davies said.
He gave statistics for last year’s event: 157 countries represented, 32,912 participants, and 173 million pounds generated for the Scottish economy. People come to the Fringe Festival to widen their horizons; to see something they know they have never seen before,
Davies said. The program booklet for the coming year will display at least 456 pages worth of performances to look through for the festival, and the audience purchases tickets for individual performance they would like to see. This year 35 countries will be represented.
The Fringe Society was founded in 1957, just 10 years after the festival debuted. Davies said, “The society is the custodian of the Fringe by doing all they can to support artists, assist the audience, and promote the Fringe.” The Fringe Society was created by artists for artists, Davies said. The society helps bring residents, audience, participants, media, and the arts industry together in a seamless way.
Familiar celebrities who have performed over the years in the festival include Maggie Smith, Rachel Weisz, Billy Connolly, Jude Law, Emma Thompson, and Steve Coogan.
The festival organizers are focusing on making sure people with disabilities of any sort are not held back from participating in anything during the Fringe, Davies said. It was one of the first events that distributed sensory backpack kits for people with autism. It is now becoming a shared value at events to provide things like that. Organizers make sure venues are accessible from the street for anyone who may be in a wheelchair. The programs have signed performances, relaxed performances, captioned performances, and audio described performances, too. Anything they can do to cater to somebody’s disability, they will do, Davies said. Accessibility is becoming part of the art process. Nobody is turned away at the Fringe Festival.
A big demographic for the festival is the LBGTQ+ community.
Organizers are working hard to assist people who financially can’t afford to go to the Fringe, which could be a large part of the audience. The society found over 30 charities to help create a fund to give to audiences that needs it, Davies said. Right now, that fund has
about 50,000 pounds for show tickets and bus vouchers. The goal is to change that to 100,000 pounds in five years, Davies said.
Organizers know the expenses for performers are difficult to obtain, and the goal is to offer accommodation to them at about 250 pounds per week as they don’t want the price to be a big factor in making or breaking if a performer participates in the festival or not.
The Fringe Society has developed a strategic plan, called the Fringe Blueprint, with specific goals that its wants to follow to obtain the impact they want. It includes:
- Open Fringe- remove barriers and make sure everyone is welcome at the Fringe
- World’s Fringe- develop international reputation as the place for talent to be discovered
- Affordable Fringe- make sure the Fringe is affordable for all to attend
- Fringe Home- leave a footprint on town as a year-round Fringe community
- Inspirational Fringe- foster a passion for young people so they keep creating
- Street Fringe- keep making the largest street festival better
- Green Fringe- create limited environmental impact
- Fringe Story- awareness and mark the festival puts in peoples’ lives
Davies said more than 250 countries all over the world have developed their own similar festivals. National Fringe Day is held on July 11. It is really more than one day – It’s a 46-hour long global movement of expression.
Pittsburgh has its own Fringe Festival that was held in April, mostly in the East End of the city.