Latest Melbourne News

The 25th annual Melbourne Fringe Festival launched yesterday with great fun and fanfare and announcement that this anniversary also celebrates the largest festival in the event’s history. With an explosion of more than 260 events crossing all artforms Melbourne Fringe will paint the city blue this September in theatres, galleries, pubs warehouses and laneways right across Melbourne.

Festival Creative Producer Ms Kath Melbourne welcomed Fringe goers – ‘The Age 2007 Melbourne Fringe Festival boldly showcases the vibrancy of the independent arts sector whose tenacity, creativity and innovation come together as a community every September to share work, war stories, and the odd glass of champagne.’

Thank you to all the artists, producers, audiences, techs and teams which have made this our biggest, brightest and boldest festival yet.’

Parliamentary Secretary for Public Transport and Arts, Mr Rob Hudson MP, officially launched the Festival program in a frenzy of creativity and excitement. Other speakers included Deputy Lord Mayor Cr Gary Singer; Festival Chair Mr Richard Watts; and Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, Dr John Carnie, speaking in support of the Festival’s Key Message Partnership promoting the public health campaign – Play safe. Use a condom.

As well as being Victoria’s largest annual showcase of independent arts across all artforms, Melbourne Fringe is also one of the most affordable with prices averaging less than $20 and events presented in hundreds of venues; pushing definitions of art to the limit, with willing and eager audiences along for the ride.

Key events launched include:

•    Melbourne’s public art is a defining feature of our urban landscape. Site Unseen will present the personal commemorations of a group of visual artists in a range of temporary artworks across inner Melbourne. Discovering the works and uncovering the personal stories behind them will leave a lasting impact, changing perceptions of the urban environment forever. FREE EVENT

•    For the duration of the Festival an enormous, playful, interactive sculpture will fill St Paul’s Court at Federation Square for a unique visual arts installation presented by Melbourne Fringe. small revolutions examines intergenerational perspectives, as older people from the community share their stories with a younger generation. FREE EVENT

•    Fringe Furniture returns with the theme Material/ism to inspire the creation and artistic development of contemporary furniture, lighting and furnishings. Presented at Melbourne Museum, Fringe Furniture is Australia’s only open access furniture exhibition and offers a fresh and imaginative perspective from Australia’s finest emerging talent. FREE EVENT

•    Reflecting on 25 Years of Melbourne Fringe, Fringe Framed is an exhibition of published photographs at the Arts Centre’s Curve Bar, providing an engaging snapshot of Melbourne Fringe’s first quarter century. FREE EVENT

•    The Festival Hub in North Melbourne will be home to an artistic web of more than 50 events across artforms, with the ever popular Opening Night 2 for 1 tickets and Tightarse Tuesdays attracting big crowds.

•    Last year the Festival Club saw capacity crowds lapping up FREE entertainment night after night. Festival Club events in 2007 are destined to thrill and are sure to make your toes tap with themed nights and special surprises, making the Club a favourite destination for any Melbourne Fringe devotee. Festival Club highlights: ‘Don’t try this at home’ with The League of Sideshow Superstars III; the Opening Night Carnivale with trapeze, magic and funked up beats; and the big numbers with a twist, Lost Vegas. FREE EVENT

•    The Melbourne Fringe School Holiday Program will focus on creative events and activities for kids during the September mid term break.

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW by calling 03 8412 8777 or visiting melbournefringe.com.au