The Sydney Fringe has announced a new partnership with 5 Eliza Ltd to enable the launch of their pop-up venue FRINGE HQ Newtown. Taking over the historic ballroom at 5 Eliza Street, the venue will be activated from April-December 2021, and will play a vital role in the Covid recovery for the independent arts sector.

The Sydney Fringe has long been championing the need for more affordable, accessible and importantly non-curated performance space in Sydney. The project Fringe HQ was created in 2018 as a way for the organisation, best known as the presenters of the largest independent arts festival in NSW The Sydney Fringe Festival, to work with their Government and provide sector partners to activate underutilised space for performance.

The venue opens at a time when the sector fears losing many of its dedicated independent performance venues due to the impacts endured from the Covid 19 pandemic. This new venue and partnership provides the Sydney Fringe with the opportunity to further their research into viable business models for venue management for the independent sector, building on the valuable work published in 2018 An Anthology of Space: Activating unused and underutilised space for the creative industries and performing arts sectors of NSW.

The Fringe HQ Newtown public program will be announced in the coming weeks.

Image Courtesy Sydney Fringe