Richmond Fringe
Location: Richmond, VA
Dates: April 12, 2025 to April 14, 2025
Website: https://www.richmondfringe.com/
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About
Richmond Fringe is a boutique-sized, curated, profit-sharing festival that brings together the diverse creative communities of Richmond, Virginia. Organized by Spectacle & Mirth, this festival fosters artistic experimentation, collaboration, and mutual aid, ensuring that performance art remains a vibrant part of the city's cultural landscape. The festival is deeply committed to uplifting artists who are ready to present bold, conversation-pushing work while embracing a Queer and BIPOC-positive ethos.
Originally set to debut in April 2020, Richmond Fringe instead became the world’s first digital Fringe Festival during the early lockdown period. Since then, it has evolved into an annual in-person celebration featuring a mix of live performances, immersive experiences, and artistic collaborations.
Each year, Richmond Fringe hosts a Fringe Funeral, a communal space for reflection, remembrance, and resilience. Attendees are invited to toast, eulogize, and grieve together in a trustworthy space. The event features an Altar of Unnamed Saints, where visitors can place a meaningful item to rest before taking it home again, and the Memorial Library of Aromas, which uses scent to evoke memories and emotions. Held at Fringe HQ, Révéler, this event is always free. Richmond Fringe embraces a death-positive philosophy and encourages all people to understand their rights and responsibilities when it comes to bodily sovereignty.
Submission Requirements
Richmond Fringe follows a curated selection process rather than an open lottery. This allows the festival to feature artists who are prepared to engage with audiences in meaningful ways and contribute to an evolving artistic dialogue. While the festival does not judge the inherent value of any work, it aims to ensure a balance of creative voices, perspectives, and disciplines.
Artists, vendors, and partners interested in participating are encouraged to subscribe for updates on how to get involved.
Finances
Richmond Fringe operates on a profit-sharing model, ensuring that artists and organizers share in the festival’s financial success. Rather than functioning as a pay-to-play event, artists are selected based on their readiness to present work that challenges, engages, and inspires. This model relies on mutual trust and respect, fostering a supportive environment for artists and audiences alike.
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