For Artists

Participate in Fringe Furniture

Registrations for Fringe Furniture are now closed for 2020.

In a world of uncertainties, it’s nice to know a chair is a chair, right? Except… what if that chair is also a lamp? Oh boy.

Now in its 34th year, Fringe Furniture showcases the very best experimental, emerging and market-ready design – beautifully crafted objects from some of our brightest furniture makers, sculptors, ceramicists, industrial designers, and big-thinkers. But Fringe Furniture isn’t just about drool-worthy design (though it is that too) – it’s an invitation to artists to re-imagine the familiar and make the future now; to re-think where we sit, how we sit and what we sit on. The future might be uncertain, but one thing you can be sure of: it’ll look rad. Returning to its home at the Abbotsford Convent, Fringe Furniture is one of the longest-running design events in Australia, and it kicks off this Melbourne Fringe Festival with a bang.

Fringe Furniture is an open-access event, meaning that anyone can register to exhibit work. This open-access policy results in established and emerging designers coming together, with a combination of experimental and functional works and the presentation of fresh ideas alongside refined forms. The breadth of talent and skill that Fringe Furniture attracts can genuinely be considered a barometer for the city’s vibrant and cutting-edge design community.

A picture of a previous Fringe Furniture exhibition, with two people in the middle of the picture expressing surprise and amusement at objects on the table that are shaped like soft-serve icecream in gold, red and orange tones. In the background there are a variety of lamps, tables, chairs and art objects with small groups of people viewing the works.

Fringe Furniture 33, Melbourne Fringe Festival 2019. Photo by Tanya Voltchanskaya