Visual Arts Program

FringeArts (then the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe) took on a major organizational and artistic expansion from June 2011 through May 2013, in order to launch a new, high-profile visual arts program for the 2013 festival. Visual arts curator Nato Thompson of public art institution Creative Time in New York City led FringeArts through the planning and implementation of the inaugural year of the program as curator-in-residence, contributing his valuable expertise in public art. Under Thompson's leadership, the FringeArts staff has expanded to include a new visual arts program director, who oversees logistical and budgetary elements of the program as well as new visual arts programming year-round. The culminating public art works at the 2013 festival will be a set of three installations called This Is Not Theatre. The works created will be by Liz Magic Laser, Darren O'Donnell and his collaborative organization Mammalian Diving Reflex, and Navin Rawinchaikul. In addition, FringeArts is programming visual arts throughout the year for its new program, The Proposition Tent. Taken together, these projects will bolster FringeArts' visibility and impact throughout the region and expand its reach beyond limited-run dance, theater, and music performances. [fn]Management grants, through the Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative, were awarded from 2009 through 2013.[/fn]