Creating High and Low Art: Experimentation and Commercialization at Fringe Festivals

Abstract

Fringe festivals make an important contribution to the creative industries by providing artistic output and experiences. Fringe festivals are open access noncurated multi-art festivals where artist choose to present their work. The article considers the phenomenon of fringe festivals in the context of creative industries and, in particular discusses the issue of commercialization at two such festivals, namely the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Both fringe festival organizations have been criticized as staging festivals that have become overly commercial and less experimental. The study found that this criticism has occurred because venues and promoters, particularly in relation to comedy shows, aggressively market the artists they support. However, both fringe festivals have maintained their original philosophy of open access to allow all artists and a range of art forms to be staged. A new definition of a fringe festival is provided, and future areas of research are identified.

Surfing the Fringe: An Examination of Event Tourism Strategies of the Bleach Festival—Coolangatta Queensland

“…With the success of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and others like it, event managers have come under pressure from a diverse range of event stakeholders to commercialize these events, and so provide greater returns for those with a financial or business interest in them. This in turn has resulted in the criticism that such events have become overly commercial (Frew & Ali-Knight, 2010). In the case of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, one festival critic went as far as to argue that the event had "sold its soul to the two arch enemies of the arts: commercialism and capitalism" (Frew & Ali-Knight, 2010, p. 238).…”

“…Although Frew and Ali-Knight (2010) found that criticism has occurred because venues and promoters aggressively market the artists they support, they also noted that pressure on event managers to change existing practices to improve efficiency or deal with growing audience numbers were sometimes also seen in this same light. For example, pressures on ticketing systems from growing audience numbers have forced upgrades and changes (Carlsen, Andersson, Ali-Knight, Jaeger, & Taylor, 2010), while competition for venue space can necessitate, as it did in the context of the Edmonton Fringe, changes to the venue management process (Boulder Fringe Festival, 2012).…”

The impact of young people's participation in events

“…' (Respondent 21) Being the second largest Fringe Festival in the world (Frew & Ali-Knight, 2010) has led to a large artist registration numbers. This provides a wide range of choice for event attendees; however it can also make it difficult to choose which performances to attend.…”

Rituals and Traditional Events in the Modern World

“…Many of these have been developed in order to address social, political, demographic and economic issues among communities, and often the aim of these new festivals is to bring in tourists and maximise positive economic impact (Getz 2013). Recent research into the supply side of cultural events festivals has also considered the increased commercialization of such events (see for example Anderton 2008;Caves, 2000;Finkel 2009;Frew & Ali-Knight, 2010;Richards & Wilson 2006).In addition, Finkel (2010) notes that many not for profit contemporary arts festivals in the United Kingdom may be seen as commercial entities since they create financial gain for places, communities or individuals, and some are increasingly associated with commercial enterprises and commercial practices. Similarly, Anderton (2008) found outdoor music festivals in Britain have now transformed into a reliable, attractive, and an increasingly mainstream lifestyle commodity that can be purchased by festival goers with less fear or risk than ever before.…”