FringeArts seeks Artists to submit proposals for large scale, public-practice performance that will be presented in the 24th annual Fringe Festival in September 2020.

FringeArts defines public-practice performance as participatory work in which Philadelphia residents with a myriad of relationships to the arts perform a piece for an audience. FringeArts received a New Audiences New Places grant from the William Penn Foundation in the spring of 2018. This grant, titled Fringe Populi: Building Audiences through Public Performance, seeks to “build new audiences through large-scale public practice works [that] generate both wide attention through scale, spectacle, and resonance of content,” and that provide “more focused, deeper engagement with individuals recruited to participate in the work.”

Previous examples of public practice pieces stewarded by FringeArts include Le Grand Continental (2012, Sylvain Émard), 100% Philadelphia (2014, Rimini Protokoll), Gala (2016, Jerôme Bel), Le Super Grand Continental (2018, Sylvain Émard), and Úumbal: Nomadic Choreography for Inhabitants (2019, Mariana Arteaga). The 2020 Fringe Populi piece will be the culminating performance in the Fringe Populi New Audiences New Places grant that aims to break down perception barriers which keep the Philadelphia public from engaging in contemporary performance.

The Artist’s piece should aim to engage between 100-250 performers at varying levels of engagement and commitment. Artist proposals will provide a clear outline of project dramaturgy, recruitment, rehearsal structure, and performance. The priorities of the Fringe Populi project are to cultivate wide encounters of contemporary performance with the Philadelphia public, present work that is free and outdoors, and to engage with civically-activated spaces.

Proposal applications open on Monday, September 9th and are due back to FringeArts by 5:00pm on Monday, October 7th. Please read the Fringe Populi Requirements and Guidelines closely before starting your application.

To apply, please fill out this form.

Questions? Email programming@fringearts.com.