Adelaide Fringe Cultural Fund 2016 Recipients Announced

Following the success of last year's inaugural Adelaide Fringe Cultural Fund recipients, eight $5,000 grants have been awarded to carefully selected arts companies from around Australia.

The Adelaide Fringe Cultural Fund grants will enable these companies to realise their vision in order to present their work at Adelaide Fringe 2016.

Adelaide Fringe Board Member Sam Haren, who is the Adelaide Fringe Cultural Fund Chair, said this year's crop of successful applicants all met the key criteria of presenting innovative work that could find an audience at Adelaide Fringe.

"We've been thrilled to support eight projects this year that we feel are as diverse in form and approach as the Fringe itself. There's everything from an experience in hidden tunnels under the city, to a performance using the latest interactive possibilities of the smartphone," said Mr Haren

"We look forward to seeing these artists realise their daring and risky projects that embrace the experimentation that lies at the heart of the Adelaide Fringe."

Two of this year's Adelaide Fringe Cultural Fund grant recipients, Amanda Phillips and Alexander Waite Mitchell from Felicity Arts, said the company was thrilled to be named as one of the recipients of this year's grants.

"In our case, receiving support from the Adelaide Fringe Cultural Fund is directly backing the creation of our new work that will premiere at the Adelaide Fringe - and that's exciting to be producing, showcasing and giving life to our ideas for one of the biggest and most diverse festivals in the world," said Ms Phillips.

"As local artists and collaborators, the support from the Adelaide Fringe Cultural Fund has come at the right time for us to launch this home-grown vision. It is validation of years of work and evolving artistic practice, working outside of the parameters of a conventional stage setting." Mr Waite Mitchell said.

The eight 2016 Adelaide Fringe Cultural Fund grant recipients are:

Adelaide-based Felicity Arts - a team of artists and film makers who will present the new work Otanical; an immersive, interactive, virtual reality public artwork for parents and their children.

Melbourne-based shadow puppeteer and clown, Jeff Achtem and his company Bunk Puppets will wow families with their signature brand of non-verbal performance.

Leah Shelton will travel from Brisbane to present PULPSHOW - a look at the 1970s 'Ozploitation' film genre presented with melodramatic flair, jewel-encrusted gore, live video feed, lip sync and pole dance.

The South Australian Youth Theatre Arts Company will present Sean Riley's award-winning trilogy of interconnected, refugee-inspired plays for young people, Beautiful Words. They will also present an exhibition of works by young new arrivals to Australia curated by Afghani refugee, poet and artist Elyas Alavi.

Adelaide-based five.point.one will mount a production of The Last Time I Saw Richard, by Melbourne playwright Cat Commander - an exploration of the very real problems brought about by the increasingly isolated nature of modern life.

littlerundlestreetartproject, an Adelaide-based, committed group of artists from many disciplines, will create an arts 'corridor' linking the eastern suburbs with the CBD.

Adelaide-based Sacred Resonance will utilise the Adina Treasury Tunnels to create Agartha - an interactive colour, light and sound spectacular.

• Stephanie Daughtry and Hannah Rohrlach will present and exciting new take on food with Post-Dining Experiments - an immersive, two hour dining event centred on 10 gastronomical courses that play on an audience's sensual perception. The courses will be aided by an audio soundtrack, curated space, servers/performers and the potential of live-art responses on particular nights.

Donations to the Adelaide Fringe Cultural Fund can be made at adelaidefringe.com.au and the full 2016 Adelaide Fringe program will be released on Wednesday, December 2, 2015.

The 2016 Adelaide Fringe will run from 12 February until 14 March. For more information, visit adelaidefringe.com.au.

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