We reckon you’ve landed on this page because a) you’re keen to register for Melbourne Fringe Festival 2024 and b) you’ve got questions. Maybe even some “frequently asked” ones. We’ve tried our best to answer them all below, but if we’ve missed anything, give our Participant Services team a buzz on 9660 9600 or email [[email protected].](mailto:[email protected].%C2%A0)
Melbourne Fringe democratises the arts.
Our vision is cultural democracy – empowering anyone to realise their right to creative expression. We support the development and presentation of artworks by, with and for Melbourne’s citizens, by running the annual Melbourne Fringe Festival, the year-round venue Common Rooms at Trades Hall, and a range of arts sector leadership programs. We believe that access to the arts and creative expression are fundamental rights of our humanity, and are vital to a creative, cohesive, optimistic and empathetic society.
Melbourne Fringe is the place to go for pure, unadulterated, un-curated and unexpected artistic discovery. We help artists develop and provide a platform for a vast, diverse range of voices, in celebration of the idea that when we come together, we create a safe space for risk taking. We find ideas from the margins and shout them to the world. We’re here to challenge perceptions and shake up the hierarchy, to be brave and unafraid, to explore the boundaries of art and to change the way you see the world.
The 2024 Melbourne Fringe Festival will take place from 1 October to 20 October 2024.
This one is easy. The answer is yes! Anyone can be part of Fringe. We’re a proudly inclusive, open access Festival made by the great people of Melbourne – and their interstate and international friends as well. We’re all about variety, whichever form that comes in. Arts focused or not, we welcome events of all kinds. Our Festival embodies freedom of expression - at its loudest. So if you have something to say, here’s the place to say it.
As an Open Access festival, it means anyone can be a part of Fringe, and all work is presented by the artists or their independent producers. Melbourne Fringe Festival provides a thorough framework to support the presentation of their events, but we do not “buy in” (i.e. provide artist guarantees) for individual shows – any monetary support we can offer is done through our grant programs.
This one is entirely up to you.
Putting on a show at any Fringe festival is always a risk. It can be a deeply beneficial experience in terms of community building, networking, audience growth and artistic development, but it is one that takes a lot of time, effort and possibly financial investment. We hope that the risk is worth it, but that decision is ultimately up to you.
Here’s our handy resource that will help you decide if Melbourne Fringe is right for you.
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