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Building on the inaugural Keep it Fringe fund 2023, this will support artists bringing work to the Fringe in 2024 and 2025.

UPDATE: We have updated this story to include a recording of the Keep it Fringe webinar held on 09 April 2024.

We're delighted to launch the second year of the Keep it Fringe fund, an initiative to support Fringe artists to realise their professional ambitions, originally launched in 2023 by our honorary President Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Applications for the fund will open on at 12:00 on Thursday 11 April 2024. We hosted an online information session on Tuesday 09 April for anyone with questions around the fund; you can view the recording below:

In March 2023 the UK Government announced funding for a capital project for the Fringe Society. In ongoing discussions with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), £1mn of this has since been allocated to support a two-year UK Keep it Fringe fund, with 360 bursaries of £2,500 to support artists to bring their work to the Fringe. Of the funding announced, £900,000 will go directly to support artists over two years, with £50,000 per year used to support administration and payment to freelance assessors involved in the process, as well as accessibility and event support for funded artists at Fringe-time. 180 bursaries per year will be available via this funding.

The Fringe has a vision to give anyone a stage and everyone a seat – an artist's background shouldn’t prevent them from being able to showcase their talent at the Fringe. Experimentation and audience development have been at the heart of the festival for decades; put simply, without artists there would be no Fringe.

In 2023 more than 670 artists applied for 50 bursaries available through the Keep it Fringe fund. While this funding won’t make or break an artist's experience at the festival, it is hoped that it will remove some of the financial pressures that can impact whether an artist takes part. In extending the value of the fund, and securing it for two years, we hope it will offer some certainty to artists.

What is the Keep it Fringe fund?  

The total fund available for 2024 is £450,000, which will be made up of 180 awards of £2,500. The remaining funds will be used to deliver support services for the successful artists through our Artist Services team throughout the year and at festival-time, as well as fees for assessors and the administration.

Bursaries are designed to help artists on their Fringe 2024 journey and can be spent on any costs associated with their show. The Fringe Society will award £2,000 of the fund up front, with a further £500 to support admin and reporting to be paid after the Fringe upon receipt of reporting.  

Who is the fund for?  

The fund is for individual artists and companies bringing work to the Fringe in 2024.  

Eligibility criteria:

• Your show must be registered for the 2024 Fringe (registration will be confirmed before funds are paid, but does not have to be completed when you apply, and you can register any time up to and during the Fringe).
• You must be a UK-based performer, or applying on behalf of a UK-based performer.
• You must be presenting live and in-person performance. 

How do artists apply for it?  

The Fringe Society anticipates there will be an excess demand for funding which will require assessments to be made. The application will ask the following questions: 

• Tell us about your show and what stage you’re at in your plans for Fringe 2024 (200 words max).
• Tell us about your budget and how this will help (200 words max).
• Tell us what you hope to achieve in Fringe 2024 and your ambitions for your show (200 words max).

The Fringe Society wants everyone to be able to apply and will be running online information sessions to support those who don’t have experience of applying for funding. The application itself will be kept as simple as possible and access support will be available where needed.  

Applications open at 12:00 on Thursday 11 April and close at 10:00 on Monday 29 April. Award recipients notified week commencing Monday 13 May.

What are the assessment criteria? 

• We want to hear about your show in your own words
• Applications should demonstrate how the show captures the defiant spirit of the Fringe, taking advantage of the Fringe as a unique platform to tell untold stories.
• The fund aims to support professional performers / artists / creators or individuals with professional ambitions for their work who can demonstrate an existing level of planning for Fringe 2024.
• Applications should set out clear ambitions for the future life of the piece of work being funded and / or the artist’s career.
• While no budget is required and there are no ineligible costs, the details of the spend should be clear, specific and informed costs relating to bringing your show and the 'value added' by the funding.
• Funding will be prioritised to artists who don't have an existing high profile and artists who face barriers to funding / the arts more generally.

Applicants will be assessed by external specialists to identify those that demonstrate the greatest need and the boldest ideas. Applications will be assessed and scored, and the 180 highest scoring applicants will be awarded funding. 

Thumbnail photo credit: Wasteman (2023), a 2023 Keep it Fringe recipient, Assembly. Photographer: Roberto Ricciuti.