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The 2023 Melbourne Fringe Festival is on now until Sunday 22nd October, celebrating independent art across various events, public displays and interactive experiences.

We've compiled a list of shows this year that are accessible for people who are blind or have low vision, including a tactile tour at the Linden New Art gallery and an interactive sensory display at the State Library Victoria.

The Birth and Death of a Physical Artist

"Two image side by side. On the left, Roya is performing in front of a small crowd on the street. She has a crutch in her right hand and is wearing a black singlet and shorts. On the right, Peter is breakdancing on a brick street. He is holding himself up on one hand, wearing a blue and black checked shirt. "

  • Dates 9 Oct - 22 Oct
  • Time Available On Demand (45 minutes)
  • Venue Digital Fringe

The untold story of physical artists who could never get a "real job". 

Blending hip hop, physical theatre and urban circus, this honest and raw performance offers an insight into what it means to live a life in art.

Tickets are available to purchase  here.

Solace: The Launch

Experience a moment of respite at State Library Victoria on World Mental Health Day with the world premiere of Solace, a mini-library of interactive sensory artworks, inspired by State Library Victoria’s spaces, and streamed directly to your device. 

Tickets are available to purchase here.

Design Fringe: Tactile Tour

"A close-up view of a pair of hands guiding another person's right hand to touch the surface of a stool. The stool is made of multiple rolled-up pairs of old socks in various tones of grey. "

Designed for people who are blind or vision impaired, an experienced accessibility guide will take participants on a tactile tour - piece-by-piece - into every nook, cranny, curve and corner that these playful works boast. 

Tickets are available to purchase here.

“...derelict in uncharted space...”

"A rectangular portal is framed by a radiant purple glow. Inside, an array of collaborative imagery has been collaged, mostly greyscale. A hearing aid is cradled in the palm of a hand, within a beam of light. This personal listening device is overlaid with an image of a radio astronomy telescope, its receiving dish pointed towards the sky. The receiving dish is supported by structural engineering in the form of a geometric scaffold. Above the dish, an antenna is held aloft. Its listening probe overlaps the central electronics of the hearing aid technology: micro and macro listening. An image of a white mobility cane has been overlaid diagonally across the hand. At its tip, its roller ball has been transformed into a glowing orb, emitting sound waves, signalled by concentric circles pulsing outwards. Another hand reaches into the frame, captured mid-expressive gesture. This hand is not greyscale but pale pink porcelain, and is smaller in scale than the hearing aid. On each of the three visible fingers, the nail tips are decorated with a maroon dot. In the top left corner of the image, there is a small window, also rectangular, framing an assemblage of shapes, suggestive of an imaginary glyph or letterform. The smooth, bevelled edges of the glyph lend an embossed 3D effect, so that the abstracted glyph appears to protrude from the image plane. The glyph incorporates rounded shapes, spikes that reach outward, like a crown, and a spiral whorl. "

An intrepid homage to a 70s Star Trek fan club through inter-sensory movement languages and space-time translations, via live performance and radio broadcast.

Tickets are available to purchase here.

I Am (Not) This Body

  • Dates In person: 11 Oct - 15 Oct, Digital: 16 Oct - 22 Oct
  • Time In Person - 7:30pm, 2:00pm, 5:00pm, Digital - Available On Demand (50 minutes)
  • Venues Digital Fringe, Arts House

A memoir and exploration of being under four foot in a six foot world shared through movement, film and installation.  

Tickets are available to purchase here.

I'm Ready To Talk Now

An immersive piece unpacking the isolation, boredom, and awe experienced in long-term hospital stays. A fusion of theatre, performance art, and art installation, the work can only be viewed alone with the artist. 

Tickets are available to purchase here.