Thank you

Adelaide Fringe recognises Kaurna Yerta Meyunna First Nations People and their ancestral lands. The lands were never ceded and remain as important to the living Kaurna people today. We respect the living culture, spirit, and country of the First Peoples. We acknowledge and embrace the significance and diversity of First Nations People’s contributions in our Fringe and in the greater arts community.

We are so proud to announce the results of the 2021 Adelaide Fringe! The hard work of all involved was truly remarkable. The Adelaide Fringe was put on the global stage in 2021 as the only festival of its size to be running in the world. The stories and results in this Annual Review document are a result of collaboration on a massive scale between all stakeholders. Thank you to all of our sponsors, in particular BankSA, our Principal Partner of 16 years and also the Government of South Australia for their ongoing support. We could not have achieved what we did without the enormous dedication from the staff, artists, venues, audiences and volunteers, the Donor Circle and the 2021 Ambassadors as well as the tireless work from the Board.

Kate Costello

Adelaide Fringe Chair South Australia worked hard to be able to stage such a world class event and I am thrilled to see the success of the 2021 Adelaide Fringe here in this report. I would like to say a huge thank you to the artists, venues, audiences and the Adelaide Fringe staff for following the COVID regulations and showing support for this iconic festival, bringing that Fringe magic just when we all needed it. The State and Federal Government were happy to support Adelaide Fringe through these COVID times and to make sure they didn’t miss a festival cycle! The Government of South Australia recognises the importance of this wonderful open access festival, giving artists an opportunity to present their works and we look forward to continuing our support in the future.

Steven Marshall

Premier of South Australia The Adelaide Fringe is truly part of the fabric of South Australia, it’s part of who we are as a city and state, and 2021 was all about getting back to growth – with amazing results! I’m thrilled that BankSA’s longstanding partnership continues to be all about making the Fringe accessible to as many people as possible. This year we continued with some of our great ticketing initiatives such as Support Act which encouraged people to see shows by upcoming independent artists, along with offering BankSA customers 25% off ticket prices to a huge range of shows.

BankSA Fringe Corner Box Office was made bigger than ever with a new structure showcasing upcoming shows across huge digital screens, it also created a space for people to meet and gather. Congratulations to the Fringe Board, staff and all the artists and incredible venues on another successful year of Fringe! Ben Owen

State General Manager BankSA and Westpac SA&NT

Inma, The Moa a t G lu t t o n y . P h ot o : J ord an G oll an , 2021

After a year of almost no performances, the 2021 Fringe was an important event for artists, venues, tourists, local businesses and audiences. Thank you to everyone who got behind the Fringe this year. We were delighted to work with so many stakeholders and create a fantastic festival just when we needed it most. I am extremely grateful to the Government of South Australia for the Arts Recovery Fund and to the Federal Government for the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) funds which allowed us to inject $3m of support into the Fringe landscape. This year, we awarded over $100,000 in grants to First Nations artists on top of the Artist Fund grants and the additional Quick Response Grants.

All this extra support made Adelaide Fringe viable in 2021. The Fringe is always an enormous collaboration involving thousands of artists, hundreds of venues, dozens of sponsors, governments, councils, donors, services, businesses, audiences and more. This year, we felt even more united than ever.

Thank you all for making this a memorable year! Heather Croall

Director & Chief Executive Adelaide Fringe