Artist applications now open for Brisbane’s first Fringe Festival
Calling local artists and performers: Brisbane is set to get its own fringe festival when the inaugural Wynnum Fringe takes over the bayside streets on 13 to 15 November 2020.
Wynnum-based producer, performing artist, actor and singer Tom Oliver is the driving force and creative nous behind the Wynnum Fringe Festival.
A prolific performer who has toured opposite Marcia Hines in global disco phenomenon VELVET and A Day on the Green and created the one-man show, More Than a Boy, to name a few career highlights, Mr Oliver is using his pandemic downtime to shine a spotlight on Brisbane and local artists and invigorate the bayside suburb.
“Wynnum Fringe will be an explosion of creative talent. It’s an exciting new arts festival, which will light up a beautiful seaside town with glorious performances from local and internationally renowned artists in places you wouldn’t expect to see them,” Mr Oliver said.
“A fringe festival is something really magical and I want to share that feeling with people. As an artist, it’s where you explore your craft. For the audience, it’s where you discover something you’ve never seen before. It’s random, it’s unexpected, and it’s time Brisbane had its own fringe festival.”
Mr Oliver hopes Wynnum Fringe will become the complementary fringe festival to the annual Brisbane Festival and put Brisbane on the world stage alongside the renowned Edinburgh, Adelaide and Perth fringe festivals.
Centred around the festival hub of Edith Street, Wynnum Fringe will activate empty shopfronts, laneways, driveways and car parks with a variety of artistic works spanning theatre, cabaret, music, art installations and circus performances.
As well as live events, Wynnum Fringe will live-stream some shows to allow interstate and international viewers to witness the world-class local talent showcased over the inaugural weekend.
Mr Oliver can see definite parallels between the recent impacts on the arts industry and underrated suburbs such as Wynnum due to the current COVID-19 climate.
Artists are sitting on the fringe of society at the moment – we’re not deemed essential workers – and Wynnum has a great story to tell, Mr Oliver said. Who better to bring life and soul into a town during a global pandemic than artists and creators?
“I want Wynnum Fringe to be a place where we can praise the creative thinkers and experience their variety of works. The fringe is where people go to find the exciting new things that eventually creep into the mainstream. To create a space where this can happen – especially in this current climate – is truly exhilarating,” he added.
“I know there are a lot of Brisbane creatives who are itching for an outlet like this. I can’t wait to review the artist applications and share as many of the creative performances with audiences on-site at Wynnum Fringe and online.”
Artist applications are now open for Brisbane’s inaugural fringe festival, Wynnum Fringe.
Register your interest online by clicking HERE.
