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Following the departure of Mr Damien Hodgkinson from the Melbourne Fringe in December, the festival's Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr David Gerrand to the position of General Manager.

"Mr Gerrand has over 30 years experience in the arts sector in Victoria, the Northern Territory, Tasmania, Queensland and Western Australia. I have no doubt that he will make an excellent General Manager for Melbourne Fringe as we start a new year, with all the challenges that entails," said Richard Watts, the festival's Chair.

Currently the General Manager of Perth's iconic Deckchair Theatre Company, Mr Gerrand has worked with a diverse array of communities, including indigenous performers and people with disabilities.

"As a Melbourne boy I am very excited about returning to my old home town to work for one of the most exciting arts organisations in Australia," Mr Gerrand said.

"The reputation of the Melbourne Fringe Festival grows each year. I look forward to helping it to continue to blossom and to find more resources to assist more artists to produce extraordinary work for even larger audiences."

"I must admit that the thought of being able to watch footy at the MCG in winter is another great incentive," he added.

Mr Gerrand will commence in the position of General Manager at Melbourne Fringe in late January, as the festival looks towards its 26th year, following a highly successful festival in 2007.

David Gerrand

David Gerrand has been involved in the arts for over 30 years in Victoria, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Queensland and now Western Australia. Initially David worked as an actor, writer and director for Yellow Brick Roadshow, Salamanca Theatre Company, Tie Die, Browns Mart and the Darwin Theatre Group. He then turned his focus to Arts Management and became the first Community Arts Officer in Hobart for the Kaleidoscope Community Arts Company. He was the Salamanca Arts Festival Director for five years.

David moved to Brisbane where he worked for World Expo '88 coordinating the Day and Night Parades and became the inaugural Director of Access Arts. He developed this company into Australia's premier arts company supporting people with disabilities touring shows to Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Indonesia.

David has been General Manager of deckchair theatre for the past 11 years. In that time he has consolidated its business growth so that the company can continue to prosper. He is the past President of ArtsVoice, the Western Australia Arts Industry lobby group and a mad keen supporter of the Dockers.

www.melbournefringe.com.au