Montreal infringement festival 2016
Tuesday, November 15th – Sunday November 20th
Welcome to the Montreal infringement festival, a grassroots, Do-It-Yourself festival is based on the original Edinburgh Fringe of 1947! If you want to make an impact and protect independent arts from corporate interference, this festival is likely for you!
This year, Montreal infringement festival is moving from June to November to coincide with the third World Fringe Congress, a gathering of Fringe administrators from around the globe! These arts administrators and power-brokers will be in Montreal to discuss the business dynamics surrounding Fringe Festivals, such as trademarking the word “fringe”, which corporate sponsors are the most profitable, “extra fees” to add onto ticket sales, how much money to charge the artists to perform, etc.
In Canada, a CBC analysis recently revealed that out-of-control arts administrators now “make up the 1%” in the arts world – at the expense of the artists producing the work and spectators in attendance. This problem of arts exploitation exists across the world and is only getting worse.
The infringement festival movement aims to challenge this unfair dynamic and put some power back into the hands of artists. Incidentally, artists held all the power at the first Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, 1947, whereas now it is forbidden to do Fringe theatre in Canada without paying hefty fees and agreeing to follow a system based on corporate advertising.
Running from Tuesday, November 15th to Sunday November 20th, the Montreal infringement festival will present activist performances designed to inspire the Fringe administrators – and to demand positive social change in the arts!
Hosted by the people who trademarked and restricted the word “Fringe” in Canada, the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals, the World Fringe Congress is an opportunity for arts activists to dialogue with arts administrators about important issues that affect artists and communities. The infringement festival challenges corporatization of the Fringe movement and authentic culture through dialogue, advocacy and by hosting independent performances by artists and activists that are often critical in nature. This year we are also hosting the first-ever World Infringement Congress on November 19.
Get involved as a collaborator and/or artist and help challenge the ongoing corporate interference with grassroots culture!