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 people, 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 equitable access to the arts and creative expression are fundamental human rights and vital to a creative, cohesive and empathetic society.
The opposite to cultural democracy is artistic exclusion, and Melbourne Fringe is built on a model that seeks to dismantle a programming ecosystem that has historically excluded voices from the margins. But an open access model is only the beginning of this work because exclusion doesn’t need to be explicit; it can come about by creating or sustaining hostile environments. The only way to ensure that any individual has a right to creative expression is to foster an environment where they are welcome to do so.
To that end, we have three policy documents that work in companion to each other:
These policies collectively seek to establish a safety framework for Melbourne Fringe participants and audiences.
They can be accessed via the link below;