Our story

photographer: Annelies Verhelst
Each year in September, Amsterdam Fringe Festival offers a 11 day platform and a refuge for unique artists and their audiences. Talented upcoming makers, inventors, masters of the niche, forgers of hybrids, out-of-boxers, wildcards and the artistically homeless – either by choice or by chance.
They invite you to come on a Fringe adventure to roam the fringes of the theatre and the city. From tiny stages and hidden gems to obscure garages and less cultivated areas.

The city is our playground! The AFF is spread over 30 locations all over Amsterdam, inside and outside theatre venues. This year we have found some awesome new location partners; club RADION, What Is Happening Here Gallery, Café de Ceuvel, art Space Tempel, the rooftop of Spaces Amstel and concert venue Cinetol.  

AFF stands for experiment. True experiment, of which the end result is not set yet. This enthusiasm for finding the fringes of the Arts is what brings us together. We live in a world in transition in which old structures are being questioned by experimenting with new narratives, upcoming art forms and by discussing the purpose of art.  

This platform is what the Amsterdam Fringe Festival is all about. 

Open Call 
AFF works with open calls. Each year artists can submit their ideas from mid December until the end of January. After this periode, the Fringe team will make a selection of 55 performances for the festival in September.
Do you want to subscribe? Check our website and socials in December and January for the Open Call form!  

There is an extensive English and ‘Language No Problem’ program, which are shows that make no use of words or language. About 50% of the shows is suitable for non-Dutch speakers. You can filter these shows at the Programme section under the filter ‘Language’. 

World Fringe

The World Fringe network is an informal gathering of international Fringe festivals to broaden platform for artistic exchange, share knowledge and have more leverage in closing large sponsor deals. The eight members are Fringe Festivals from: Grahamstown, Hollywood, New York, Adelaide, Perth, Praag, Brighton, Edinburgh and Amsterdam. 

The network offers exciting possibilities for artists, public and sponsors. Cultural entrepreneurship runs through the veins of these festivals and together they combine a strong creative power and a global attitude.

Under the name of “Best of Fringe” the eight members of the World Fringe Alliance exchange productions. This way shows that excel can travel the world. The Amsterdam Fringe Festival is one of the initiators of the “Best of Fringe” project and since 2009 has exchanged shows with New York, Prague, Dublin, Edinburgh en Grahams town Fringe Festivals.