The Rest Is Up To You: Melbourne Fringe Festival 1982-2062 State Library Victoria

In our final episode we ask: can you institutionalise experimentation? And how can Melbourne Fringe give artists a safe place to fail, as well as to succeed? So far, our focus has been looking back on Fringe’s past searching for clues about its future. As we wrap up this podcast, we throw open the question: what should Fringe look like in another 40 years, and should it even exist? Learn more: https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/fringe/

How do different people show up at Melbourne Fringe and what's at stake for them? How has the Fringe held space for First Nations artists, cultural diversity, queerness and disabled people? And does having an open access festival actually make you open and accessible? In this episode we talk about the constantly changing realm of identity and equity, and explore what class has to do with art and what art has to do with life. Learn more: https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/fringe/

Over the festival’s 40 years, one of Fringe’s most distinctive practices has been the way it bleeds into public and sometimes private space, in order to engage audiences and offer artists unique and often playful, creative challenges. In today's episode we talk about the places, spaces and neighbourhoods of Melbourne Fringe. We look at the Festival Parade on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy, and the unusual places that have hosted events and exhibitions. Learn more: https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/fringe/

In this episode we discuss Melbourne Fringe artists and audiences, popular appeal and the idea of cultural democracy, populism, public space, uncommon venues and creative risk. We explore different artists’ relationships with Fringe and how the festival relates to its audiences, then we dig into the 2 distinct forces of Melbourne Fringe’s programming; the open access model, and curated or commissioned works. Learn more: https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/fringe/

In the first episode of The Rest is Up to You, we go back to the very beginnings of Melbourne Fringe and look at some of the foundational ideas that have shaped the festival in the decades since it launched in 1982. Join us for 4 more episodes as we dig deep into fringe DNA and untangle its successes and challenges. Learn more: https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/fringe/

The Rest Is Up To You: Melbourne Fringe Festival 1982-2062 is a podcast from State Library Victoria and Melbourne Fringe Festival. Hosted by Melbourne Fringe Creative Director Simon Abrahams and Curator Kate Rhodes, the podcast unpacks some of the ideas and dilemmas that lie at the heart of Fringe's past, present and future.