Announcing the 2021 Melbourne Fringe Festival Award Winners

That’s curtain call on an amazing two and a half weeks of art, which came to us through screens, letterboxes, headphones, and, for a lucky few, even in-person. We closed the Fest with an all-sparkling, live-to-your home Zoom awards presentation, where a handful of pretty amazing artists took out prizes.

A huge thank you to all the amazing artists from across Melbourne and beyond who have helped us to keep the lockdown vibes high with incredible, inventive work over the last few weeks, and an extra round of applause to the brilliant, generous and enthusiastic audiences who have supported artists with open minds (and open wallets). The 2021 Festival may not have been exactly what we thought it would be, but it was still bloody epic. We’re already looking forward to 2022 (the Festival will run 6-23 October 2022, for those playing at home), and in the meantime, we still have lots of rescheduled events, Fringe Common Rooms shows and more coming your way. Watch this space.

And now, put your hands together and drop your jaws in awe for our phenomenal 2021 Melbourne Fringe Festival Award winners!

Best in Festival Awards

Best Work in Festival Award
Little Monster – Telia Nevile
psyche404error  – Margot Tanjutco

Best Work by an Emerging Artist Award
Juniper Wilde: Wilde Night In – Alex Hines

Spirit of the Fringe Award
Our Hair, Our Culture, Our Stories – Pasifika Storytellers Collective

Artist Development Awards

Access Award
Supported by Arts Access Victoria
Pah! Deaf Storytelling Night – Sam Martin

Best Adaptation from Stage to Screen
Supported by Theatre Network Australia 
psyche404error – Margot Tanjutco

Best Emerging Indigenous Artist
Supported by Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts & Cultural Development (VCA & MCM)
Brodie Murray for Billy’s Choice

Best Performance Ensemble
Supported by Theatre Network Australia
YUMMY: How to Make a Western –YUMMY Productions

Best Emerging Producer
Supported by MILKE
Isabella Perversi for What rhymes with orange?

Best Emerging Writer
Supported by the Emerging Writers’ Festival
Margot Tanjutco for psyche404error

Best Practice in Cultural Equity
Supported by Multicultural Arts Victoria
The People of Cabaret: We Are Here – The People of Cabaret

Emerging Company Incubator Award
Supported by Monash University’s Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music & Performance
PONY CAM

Hybrid Touring Market Ready Award
Supported by Regional Arts Victoria
Streaming Seamen! The Digital Sea Shanty Spectacular – The Shanties Choir, with Alex Morris, Beatrice Lewis, Victoria Falconer-Pritchard, Will Hannagan and Cameron Stewart

The Art Unbound Award
Supported by Experimenta
JSMR – Jessica Stanley

The Headroom Award
Supported by RISING
Ruthless World – Ken Chau, Derrick Duan, Roshelle Fong, Paxus Productions, Christie Widiarto and Helen He

The Phantasmagorical Award
Supported by Temperance Hall
That One Time I Joined the Illuminati – Lou Wall

Sound and Technical Excellence Award
Supported by Front of House Productions
Hey Hey It’s Lockdown! – Game Boys Comedy

Young Creatives Award
Supported by SIGNAL
Brodie Murray for Billy’s Choice

Touring Awards

The NSW Tour Ready Award
Supported by Sydney Fringe
YUMMY: How to make a Western – YUMMY Productions

The NZ Tour Ready Award
Supported by New Zealand Fringe
Juniper Wilde: Wilde Night In – Alex Hines

The QLD Tour Ready Award
Supported by Brisbane Comedy Festival
That One Time I Joined the Illuminati – Lou Wall

The SA Tour Ready Award
Supported by Adelaide Fringe
Streaming Seamen! The Digital Sea Shanty Spectacular – The Shanties Choir with Alex Morris, Beatrice Lewis, Victoria Falconer-Pritchard, Will Hannagan and Cameron Stewart

The WA Tour Ready Award
Supported by FRINGE WORLD Festival
Dazza and Keif Reenact the Titanic Movie Playing All the Roles – Dazza & Keif

Design Fringe Awards

Best in Experimental Design Award
Jessica Broad for Bento

Best in Furniture Award
Anthony Yang for 7 Teardrops

Best in Homewares and Object Design Award
Madison Elrick for Here you go

Best in Lighting Award
Marta Figueiredo for Stardust Lamp

Design Fringe Mentorships
Supported by the Victorian Women’s Trust
Aviva Same for Dismembrium
Jillian Stevenson for Baggage

Design Futures Award
Supported by Authentic Design Alliance
Marta Figueiredo for Stardust Lamp
Kathleen Prentice for Melt Console
Kirby Bourke for Simple(y) (a)chair
Jillian Stevenson for Baggage
Lauren Haynes for Foli side table/stool

Design Innovation Award
Supported by MPavillion
Marta Figueiredo for Stardust Lamp

Special Awards

Best Feminist Work
Supported by MC Security
Juniper Wilde: Wilde Night In – Alex Hines

Industry Trivia All-Star Champion Award
RISING

 Director’s Choice
Simon Taylor’s Comedy Picnic – Simon Taylor

 People’s Choice Award
YUMMY: How to Make a Western – YUMMY Productions

Fringe Living Legend
Dr Lou Bennett AM
Lou Bennett is a performer, songwriter, musical and artistic director, composer, actor, soundscape and music designer and educator from the Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung people in Echuca, Victoria. Read her full bio here

Image Credit: Streaming Seamen! The Digital Sea Shanty Spectacular, 2021 Melbourne Fringe Festival. Photo by J Forsyth.