08 Jan 2018
Now in its third year, the Nelson Fringe Festival once again delighted sold-out audiences with an eclectic mix of quirky shows, workshops and visual arts projects.
This year saw 37 original shows from international, national and local performers converging on Nelson for nine days in May.
The shows included an alternative education of Nelson improvised on foot, a farce within a murder within a comedy, a buzzy inter-dimensional adventure, a one-woman musical dabbling on the light and dark of human nature and New Zealand’s own Donald Trump impersonator.
Creative New Zealand’s support helped fund personnel, production and marketing costs for the festival for the second year running.
“As an artist, you can feel really isolated in a small community … then, for nine days, you witness remarkable humans from around New Zealand and the world forming friendships, collaborations, connections and sharing of themselves on stage and off.”
– Laura Irish, Artistic Director
Alongside entertainment for audiences, the festival featured a strong focus on artists and ensured that those participating had the opportunity to build on their artistic abilities by developing and workshopping their art.
The festival saw more than 100 artists and 60 volunteers helping the festival accommodate an audience of 2,200, well up from last year’s festival.
Planning for the 2018 season has already begun.
Artform – Theatre
Location – Nelson
Funding – Arts Grants $10,143
This is one of 10 stories from our Annual Report 2016/17 about the diverse range of arts projects and organisations that Creative New Zealand funded.
For a quick visual overview of how much revenue was received and how it was invested see Our Year in Review: Creative New Zealand
For detailed information see Arts Council of New Zealand (Creative New Zealand) Annual Report 2016/17
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