Fringe Arts At The Forum

Name and Role: Amy Bortolazzo – Visual Arts program curator.

Plug your show? The visual arts is the only curated genre in the Sydney Fringe this year. We have a combination of curated shows and events along with those of partner galleries. Fringe Arts at the Forum is our major curated exhibition and features artists who work across a wide range of mediums.

Where did the idea for your show come from? We wanted to expand on the visual arts program from last year and put on a variety of events and exhibitions. Our shows feature a range of artists at different stages in their careers. A focus on giving art school graduates the opportunity to exhibit their work across all of our events was important to us. Superheroes & Villains, a group exhibition curated by David Greenhalgh and The Great American Buffet, a solo exhibition by Patrick Cremin both feature artists still studying or in the early stages of their careers. These exhibitions will be held at the Tate Gallery in Glebe, a new space that supports young artists.

What have the past few months or so been like in the lead-up to Fringe? Very busy! We work on a volunteer basis so trying to juggle this work along with our other commitments has been challenging at times. Emma and David, visual arts staff have been amazing in helping pull it all together!

What other shows are you looking forward to at this year's Fringe? The visual arts team are looking forward to Hidden: A Rookwood Sculpture Walk, The Great American Buffet by Patrick Cremin, 31 Days: The Space Between and Photo-Sculpture pictures, objects and paradox. Some of our visual artists will be performing at the Jurassic Lounge Fringe edition, which will be great!

What excites you about being involved in the Sydney Fringe 2012? Giving artists the opportunity to exhibit their work and be seen by new audiences is the most exciting part of my role here. There are so many great shows in the visual arts program and with most of them free there's no excuse not to see some!

WHEN & WHERE: Friday 7 to Sunday 30 September, The Forum