What is Fringe?
Before being anything else, Fringe is a state of mind. At the beginning there was the most daring act of 8 theatre companies that changed the rules of the game at the elitist Edinburgh International Festival by “climbing on stage” uninvited. That happened in 1947. The Fringe concept was born, a festival open for everyone, regardless.
From that moment, the Fringe spread quickly around the world. Every respectable metropolis has a Fringe Festival. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the grandfather of them all, brings about 75 million pounds to the Scottish economy every year.
In English, fringe means an ornamental textile trim applied to an edge of an item, such as drapery, flag, epaulettes or tassel. Extending the rationalisation, the fringe art positions itself outside clear rules, on the edge of artistic conventionalism, in the experimental zone. Fringe’s eccentricity can be compared with decorating the classical art fabric with avant-garde tassels. Here you will meet participants in search of their own voice as well as established acts looking to meet a different public, therefore testing their creativity.
Fringe revolutionised the concept of art festival, allowing any artist the freedom of expression during an artistic manifestation. Today, the notion of Fringe is associated with liberalisation of art, bringing it from the ivory tower down to the masses.
How does Fringe function?
At most of the international fringe festivals, the artist pays an entry fee and is fully responsible for venue fees, show expenses and logistics, accommodation and food, the organisers providing information and advice to bring the show to the festival and promote it.
WFF will adapt to the reality of the artistic community in Romania, meaning that for the first edition the organisers have provided a number of facilities for the participants. There will be no entry fee, the venues will be provided, and assistance with technical and logistical aspect of the performances will be available within the limits of our resources.
These facilities are provided by the WFF organiser, the Association for Supporting and Promoting of Artists (ASPA) who is aiming to provide all the help and support needed by the artists, offering a platform of exposure and the resources necessary. The ASPA’s future goal is to raise the festival’s standard to an international level.
What is the difference between Fringe and Festival?
For the Festival section, the rules are slightly different. The artists registered here normally have their own team of curators and/or impresarios that look after all aspects of the event management, the Fringe participants manage their programme on their own. The Festival’s artists join the event following an official invitation; the Fringe artists initiate the participation and propose the event schedule to the organisers. Please note that well established international artists choose to join the Fringe section to maintain their creativity and spontaneity. At large international fringe festivals, there isn’t a clear separating line between the notoriety of the artists participating in either section.
