Capital Fringe announced today that it will no longer produce the annual Fringe Festival. “We are immensely proud of the impact twenty years of an open-access Fringe Festival has had on DC’s arts scene,” they noted in their announcement, “and are deeply grateful to the artists, audience members, volunteers, community members, festival and program staff and partners who have supported and created with us over the decades. It has truly been extraordinary!”
Since its inception in 2005, Capital Fringe has been a cornerstone of Washington, DC’s arts community, fostering creativity and collaboration through its annual open-access Fringe Festival and year-round programming. Over the years, Capital Fringe has engaged 87,000 artists and attracted 497,000 audience members, generated $3,294,714 in artists revenue. Fringe programming efforts have brought the arts to hundreds of established venues as well as vacant properties throughout Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Downtown, and Georgetown. From its founding of operating out of a vacant Italian restaurant, Fringe has achieved remarkable milestones, including raising capital and operating funds to establish a permanent home for the region’s small theater community and independent artists.
Fringe Festival Platform Impact
- Artists: 52,000
- Audience: 400,000
- Participating Productions Revenue: $2.7M
Year-Round Programming Impact
- Artists: 35,000
- Audience: 97,000
- Curated Artist Fees Paid: $574,714
The difficult decision to cease producing the annual Fringe Festival results from years of mounting obstacles that have only been addressed with short-term solutions. Operating a small to mid-sized arts organization in Washington, DC, requires constantly overcoming challenges to secure space. Over the past three years, these challenges have been further compounded by rising costs and the difficulty of obtaining suitable and reliable venue options annually to support our unique open-access programming. Unfortunately, there is no apparent long-term solution to this trend, and to continue to fight this battle annually is not sustainable.
Capital Fringe’s new chapter begins this Fall when they will launch an annual cash artist award, designed to celebrate and support the creative uniqueness of the DC arts community. The funds for this yearly award are provided exclusively by the quasi-board endowment established following the sale of the Logan Fringe Arts Space. While full details will be revealed in July, Capital Fringe’s mission remains to champion local artists and provide a critical, reliable resource for their growth for generations to come.
About Capital Fringe
Fringe strives to celebrate cultural democracy and art for everyone. By embracing diversity and a spirit of independence, they create earning opportunities for individual artists. Their aim is to challenge perceptions, shake up the institutionalized hierarchy, be brave and unafraid, and serve as a launching pad for unseasoned and established artists. For more information, visit capitalfringe.org.
SEE ALSO:
5 Reasons Capital Fringe Is a DC Treasure (column by John Stoltenberg, July 4, 2016)