Perth’s Fringe World organiser ends partnership with Woodside

Following a multi-year campaign by members of the Western Australian arts community to remove Woodside’s involvement in Perth's Fringe World Festival, the organisation that runs the Festival - Artrage - has ended its partnership with the the fossil fuel giant.

This comes after the mutual conclusion of Perth Festival's partnership with Chevron in 2023 following mounting pressure from the community.

Campaigners are now delighted as Perth's first 'fossil free' festival season begins this month with Fringe World beginning on 19th January followed by Perth Festival on 9th February.

Artrage Chief Executive Jo Thomas thanked Woodside for its support of its philanthropic program advising “thanks to the generous contributions made by our sponsors, both past and present, as well as the wonderful people who attend and support our events, we have been able to reduce ticketing fees and double cash awards and bursaries.”

The Western Australian Government in November 2023 announced a major investment to secure the future of Fringe World in WA - delivering $2.7 million through Lotterywest for the 2024 festival, and $2.9 million to support the 2025, 2026 and 2027 events.

Years of campaigning by activists and artists centred predominantly around the Fringe World naming rights deal with Woodside. The first signs of victory came in 2021 when the naming rights deal was dropped but Artrage transitioned Woodside's funding to partner directly with the organisation itself.

Since then, artists have continued to maintain pressure on Artrage to ensure an end to Woodside's involvement with FringeWorld. Having been told by the Artrage board at previous AGMs that Woodside's funding would be used with the express purpose of building capacity to obtain more philanthropic sponsorship, Woodside is no longer listed as a partner on Artrage's website.

Chevron, Australia's fifth largest greenhouse gas emitter, is also the second highest historic greenhouse gas emitting company in the world. Woodside, Australia's eighth largest greenhouse gas emitter, is doubling down on fossil fuel extraction with its proposed Burrup Hub, while the world has agreed to transition away from fossil fuels.

Artists and activists came together nearly five years ago and devised a plan to pressure Perth's two biggest festivals to cut ties with WA's two biggest polluters. The campaign has resulted in protest performances, on stage disruption, a month long protest show, projected messages beaming into performances, a stakeholder petition, protests and the presentation of petitions at Woodside's AGM, Performing Artists calling out fossil fuel sponsors, the creation of an alternative fossil free festival, and engaging with Festival organisers throughout.

One of the leaders of the campaign is Anthony Collins from Fossil Free Arts who shared "when we all first sat in a room together five years ago to set this goal of kicking these huge companies out of our biggest festivals, I'm not sure how many of us thought we would actually achieve this. I would urge others to draw inspiration from what we have done and call out the promotion of fossil fuel extremists.

"It is a credit to the WA arts scene that festival season is no longer promoting the destruction being caused by the state's two biggest polluters. It is now a matter of time before other institutions either cut ties with big polluters or face negative consequences due to their support of an LNG industry which is betting against a livable climate.

One of the Artists in the campaign, Noemie Huttner-Koros - an Artist, Writer and Community Organiser with Arts & Cultural Workers for Climate Action – enthused "It's so exciting to hear that Fringe World and Artrage, the third largest Fringe festival in the world, has now completely cut ties with Woodside - a fossil fuel company which is taking us on a path of climate catastrophe and gas-fuelled disasters. Thanks to a broad coalition of concerned community members, artists and audience members, this will be the first festival season in WA where the two biggest arts festivals - Fringe World and Perth Festival - will no longer be sponsored by fossil fuel companies!

"After coming through the hottest year on record, the November Wanneroo bushfires and governments across the world agreeing to phase out fossil fuels at the recent COP Climate Summit, it is crystal-clear that we must end the era of fossil fuels. While the WA government continues to sabotage any meaningful action on the climate crisis, it is up to everyday people, in all sectors - including the arts, to stand up and speak out for a better future. Woodside's plans for the Burrup Hub is a disaster for climate and culture. This community and people-powered campaign demonstrates that all arts companies have the ability and responsibility to transition away from fossil fuels and stand up for climate justice. I look forward to more arts organisations in WA and across the country continuing to act."

Other arts organisations still partnered with Woodside include WA Ballet, WA Youth Orchestra and WA Symphony Orchestra.

The news of Artrage severing its ties Woodside contrasts to the announcement in September 2023 of an extension of sponsorship deal for another two years between the Fremantle Dockers and Woodside.

The announcement was made after months of negotiations and in the face of a significant campaign from climate groups calling on the Dockers to remove Woodside as the club’s sponsor.

However, Club president Dale Alcock said Woodside had provided the club great strength and stability for more than a decade, helping the club establish its first women’s program in 2017 and develop its reconciliation action plan, and lauded the gas giant’s efforts to curb climate change.

A petition with more than 8000 signatures was presented to Alcock and the club in July 2023, urging them to scrap its deal with Woodside because of its continued expansion of fossil fuel projects in the face of global warming.

Images. Credit Artrage/Facebook