INDIANAPOLIS — The pandemic has caused another summer staple of Indianapolis to be canceled.
Friday, the Board of IndyFringe announced that it would not hold its annual arts festival, IndyFringe, to support the ongoing need for social distancing.
The festival had been scheduled for August, and the board says it had received a record 93 applications from artists to perform this year. Those artists will be offered the first spots in the 2021 IndyFringe Festival.
IndyFringe is also urging people to support to Indy Arts and Culture Emergency Relief Fund, since so many artists use IndyFringe to support themselves for much of the year.
“The Fringe is a platform for so many diverse artists, especially for those who do not always have access to present their work," Pauline Moffat, CEO of IndyFringe, said. "But the foundations of a Fringe are based fundamentally on people congregating months before the first performance, we could not in good conscious encourage people to begin rehearsing now. Without rehearsals and the various community-building events we organize, the artistic and economic foundations of the festival are severely compromised.”
Read IndyFringe's announcement, in part:
"It is with a heavy heart that the staff and board of directors of IndyFringe announce the cancellation of the 2020 IndyFringe Festival, originally scheduled August 13-23, due to COVID-19.
The safety of our artists, staff, volunteers, and audience is our top priority as we navigate this difficult time, which is why the 2020 festival cannot move forward as planned. We have a social responsibility to support social distancing and follow the directives of the Mayor of Indianapolis and the Governor of Indiana.
This decision was not made lightly: we have a responsibility to our festival artists and staff, and we know that the financial impact of this cancellation will be significant."
