Introducing our Radical Access and NICA Fringe Fund commission recipients!

We are thrilled to announce that Melbourne Fringe has selected the first recipients for our Fringe x Chunky Move Radical Access and Fringe x NICA commissions! As one of the largest and most renowned open-access arts festivals in Australia, we are dedicated to supporting independent artists and companies to present their work. After a highly competitive selection process, we have chosen our first two recipients who will receive funding through our Fringe Fund to help develop and showcase their work at the 2023 Melbourne Fringe Festival. This announcement is not only exciting for us but also for Melbourne’s vibrant arts scene, as it provides an opportunity for audiences to experience some of the most innovative and boundary-pushing work by emerging and established artists. We can’t wait to see what these talented artists have in store for us.

Fringe x Chunky Move Radical Access Commission

We are thrilled to announce that Fayen d’Evie has been selected as the recipient for the Fringe x Chunky Move Radical Access Commission. This commission, which offers a whopping $40k for the development and presentation of a brand-new work for the 2023 Melbourne Fringe Festival, is a partnership between Melbourne Fringe and Chunky Move, and is designed to support an experienced dance or movement artist who identifies as Deaf or Disabled to create a work that champions access to the arts. We were looking for someone who is passionate about increasing accessibility in the arts sector, and Fayen’s incredible work and dedication to this cause made her the perfect choice.

Fayen’s projects are often collaborative and resist spectatorship by inviting audiences into sensorial readings of artworks. Fayen draws on blindness to propose critical and imaginative ways of navigating uncertainty and the precarious, handling the tangible, intangible, and concealed, and documenting ephemeral encounters through hallucinatory recall. With her impressive portfolio and extensive experience in the arts, we are excited to see the work that Fayen will create as part of this commission. As the recipient, she will not only receive $40k for her work but also studio space at Chunky Move, dramaturgy from industry legends, and extra support to make her project more accessible for herself and for her audience. We can’t wait to see what this incredibly talented artist will produce.

This Radical Access Commission is delivered in partnership between Chunky Move and Melbourne Fringe, and supported by Arts Access Victoria. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory funding, and by the City of Melbourne through its Arts and Creative Investment Partnerships Program.

Fringe x NICA Commission

We’re thrilled to announce that Casus Creations has been selected as the recipient for the Fringe x NICA Commission. This exciting new commission, which offers $20,000 in financial support, aims to promote the work of independent circus artists during the 2023 Melbourne Fringe Festival. Emerging and established circus artists from across Australia were invited to pitch their innovative ideas, with the selected project programmed as part of NICA’s Melbourne Fringe Circus Hub. Casus Creations, an innovative circus company founded in Brisbane, has been selected as the recipient, and we’re excited to see the work that Jesse Scott and Natano Fa’anana will create as part of this commission.

Casus Creations creates performance art that reflects the eclectic voices and visions of its directors, informed by creative stories. The company, which was formerly limited to contemporary circus, now incorporates multiple disciplines, showcasing diverse performers such as acrobats, dancers, poets, puppeteers, musicians, and theatre makers. With a goal to push the boundaries of what is humanly possible, Casus Creations provides a platform for creatively challenging the norm and showcasing unique and intriguing performances.

As the recipients of the Fringe x NICA Commission, Casus Creations will receive $20,000 in financial support to develop and deliver the project, a season residency in NICA’s Guang Rong Lu OAM National Circus Centre (NCC) theatre, a venue stage manager, and technical and front-of-house support. This project is an exciting start to the 2023 Melbourne Fringe program.

The Fringe x NICA Commission is delivered in partnership between Melbourne Fringe and NICA. This project has been supported by Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative.

Radical Access Commission is supported by:

NICA Commission is supported by: