Our Mission

FringeArts presents world-class, contemporary performing arts that challenge convention and inspire new ways of thinking.

Our Vision

FringeArts seeks to elevate Philadelphia as a primary nexus for cultural conversation, progressive ideas and innovative art-making.

Our Company Values

Risk
Agents of change. Physical feats. Elephants in rooms. From what we do to how we do it, we‘re purveyors of envelope-pushing and equity rooted in…

Trust
None of this works unless we’re in it for each other, committed to convictions far bigger than ourselves. Merging arts, awakening, and accessibility isn’t for the faint of heart. But we won’t stop because we’re fueled by…

Passion
The performing arts is no one’s backup plan. We are walking, talking, improvising, contorting, truth-dropping proof. Loud but listening; invigorated but introspective. This is what it looks like to be artists and to support artists. This is what it looks like to strive for…

Excellence
We can’t imagine doing this half-heartedly. We can’t imagine kicking back and letting status quo fly. And we never will. Because we…

Care
about our beautiful, flawed world. About the restorative power of expression. About diversity, inclusion, and justice.

At FringeArts, your seat will always have a view, and your view will always have a seat…

Who We Are

FringeArts is Philadelphia’s home for contemporary performance, presenting progressive, world-class art that expands the imagination and boldly defies expectations. Our programming exposes audiences to genre-defying performances and installations by accomplished and emerging innovators who push the boundaries of art-making and redefine the artistic landscape worldwide.

Each September, the organization presents the annual Fringe Festival, a month-long celebration that fills the city’s neighborhoods with more than 1,000 curated and independently produced performances. Year-round, FringeArts presents an equally compelling line up of performances at its state-of-the-art venue on the Delaware River Waterfront—a renovated historic building that also houses our partner restaurant, Fringe Bar, and Haas Biergarten.  This line up includes Blue Heaven Comedy Festival in February, Hand to Hand Circus Festival in the summer, and additional programming for late night and outdoor events in Haas Biergarten throughout the year.

As a catalyst for cultural and community development, and a destination that brings artists and audiences together, FringeArts is central to the city’s vibrant arts community and the enrichment of the lives of those who reside, work, and visit here.

Our History

FringeArts was founded in 1997 as the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, with the intention of providing opportunities for contemporary performing artists to connect with audiences in an exciting social environment. The first Festival took over Philadelphia’s Old City for five days, and featured 60 performing groups that presented their work in theaters, nightclubs, galleries, alleys, abandoned buildings and at least one parked car.

Today, the annual Fringe Festival features more than 1,000 performances by national, international and Philadelphia-based artists of all disciplines. For 4 weeks, these innovators fill the public and private spaces across the city with nonstop, wild creativity for audiences of more than 40,000. Included is a series of world-class performances curated by FringeArts, as well as an unfiltered opportunity for any artist to independently produce his or her own work in the true spirit of the international “Fringe” movement.

In 2013, FringeArts moved into its first permanent home—renovating an historic pumping station for the city’s fire trucks into a state-of-the-art performance center. It features an adaptable theater space that can be reconfigured for numerous experiences—from immersive to in-the-round—and can accommodate seating for up to 300 guests; a multipurpose studio space; our restaurant and beer garden that also serves up live performances; and the organization’s headquarters. The center is a vibrant gathering place where performers and audiences can advance the global dialogue about art, and where one can always expect the unexpected.

Land Acknowledgement

With gratitude and respect, we recognize and acknowledge the land on which FringeArts sits as part of Lënapehòkink (pronunciation: Lun-nah-pay-ho-king), or “the land of the Lenape”. The Lenape or Lenni-Lenape, are the ancestral stewards of the plot on which our site exists in addition to much of Philadelphia and the surrounding region. 

FringeArts understands this acknowledgement is only a step in a greater journey towards honoring the history, presence, and future of the Lenape, and other indigenous people in our country and around the world. Far too often, accurate and comprehensive histories of indigenous people have been systematically forgotten and erased from our nation’s history.

Acknowledging this history, our privilege to be on this land, and the Lenape tribe’s continued presence, is consistent with FringeArts’ values, our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and our goal to make our space inclusive for all.

Equal Opportunity Policy

FringeArts has been, and remains committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination. FringeArts does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, gender, gender identity, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, military status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristics, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, employment practices; selection of board members, interns, volunteers and vendors; and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all. In keeping with this policy, FringeArts seeks to recruit, hire, train and promote into available jobs the most qualified persons and to administer personnel matters such as compensation, benefits, training, and terminations in accordance with this policy. All employees, board members, interns and volunteers are expected to conduct themselves in the workplace in a manner consistent with this policy.

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Philadelphia magazine named FringeArts
the 2017 Best Place to Discover New Theater