Arts festival set to help bring more cultural diversity to Wolverhampton
The project leader of a new festival celebrating the artistic and cultural side of Wolverhampton has said she hopes it will help to build to bigger events in the future.
Hannah Taylor is part of a large partnership of different artistic groups, along Wolverhampton Council and Wolverhampton BID, which is running Fringe Arts Wolves from November 28 to November 30.
The Fringe follows on from a lantern parade run by Asylum Art in the centre city in 2024 for the Roundabout Sculptures near Chapel Ash and will take place at a number of venue around Wolverhampton city centre, including St Peter's Church, The Grand Palace, Eagleworks, the Christmas Market, The Dive Bar and the Qattery.
Ms Taylor said the Fringe was the product of discussions with Wolverhampton Council around developing an events and cultural strategy and said the idea of a fringe event was the best way forward.
She said: "There's a number of things which have been happening, such as the Urban Rooms, 01902 and the shared prosperity funding, so it's been about trying to think of a way of using all these resources in one framework that doesn't have to be a one-off.
"It can be a brand you can build each year and fringe festivals are just really well known for doing that and most cities have their own version of a fringe, which is coordinated between grassroots organisations and councils and use empty buildings and the resources they already have.
"It's about celebrating local artists and driving footfall across the city and recognising that we have everything we need here and fringes are a good way of show cultural development."
Fringe Arts Wolverhampton will be focusing on visual arts and intangible folk art, including parades, dance, song and storytelling, with a programme of art exhibitions, workshops, performances in local pubs and bars, a sound trail, a Christmas market, a multicultural folk inspired lantern parade and lights along the parade route.
Ms Taylor said the hope from the event was to begin building to something bigger.
She said: "We're already having chats with local venues and how we can programme together in the future, so this event is just a taste to say this is what's possible.
"This is something that happens in a lot of cities and we can use this to build and get more funding in and drive footfall and it can be at the same time as the Christmas market and lights switch on.
"While the biggest event will be the Lantern Parade, it's going to be a great event all around."
The full programme of events can be found at the Fringe Arts Wolverhampton website.
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