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Honoring and celebrating the Philadelphia Fringe Festival on the occasion of its 30th Festival, and recognizing its extraordinary contributions to Philadelphia's artists, audiences, neighborhoods, and cultural life.
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WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Fringe Festival was founded in 1997 with a distinctly Philadelphia spirit: to create opportunities for contemporary performing artists to connect with audiences, take creative risks, challenge conventions, and bring ambitious new work to spaces both expected and entirely unexpected; and
WHEREAS, The inaugural Philadelphia Fringe Festival transformed Old City for five days, bringing together 60 performing groups whose work could be experienced in theaters, nightclubs, galleries, alleys, abandoned buildings, and even a parked car; and
WHEREAS, That spirit of creative possibility has remained at the heart of Fringe for three decades, as artists have continued to turn theaters, galleries, storefronts, streets, public spaces, and other unconventional places throughout Philadelphia into stages for experimentation and connection; and
WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Fringe Festival has grown into one of Philadelphia's signature cultural celebrations, presenting hundreds of artists and more than 1,000 performances and events while inviting audiences to experience work that challenges expectations, crosses disciplines, and expands the boundaries of what performance can be; and
WHEREAS, Fringe invites Philadelphia itself to become part of the performance, transforming neighborhoods and unexpected spaces into places of discovery and reminding us that art does not have to happen in a traditional theater to belong to everyone; and
WHEREAS, For decades, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival has provided a vital platform for independent, emerging, and established artists to make bold work, find new audiences, build community, and contribute to the cultural life of neighborhoods throughout our City; and
WHEREAS, FringeArts and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival have helped establish Philadelphia as a place where artistic risk is not only welcomed but celebrated, demonstrating the essential role the arts plays in making our City vibrant, curious, connected, and alive; and
WHEREAS, City Council wishes to extend its congratulations and gratitude to FringeArts, every artist who has taken a creative risk, every audience member who has followed them somewhere unexpected, and every Philadelphia space that has opened its doors to the Fringe, celebrating the Festival's enduring invitation to make art, make space, and make Philadelphia the stage for audacious, adventurous, and boundary pushing art; and
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby honors and celebrates the Philadelphia Fringe Festival on its 30th Festival, and recognizes the artists, audiences, producers, volunteers, venues, partners, staff, and supporters who have made Fringe an essential part of Philadelphia's cultural landscape.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this Resolution be presented to FringeArts as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
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