UCC alumni announce Cork Fringe Festival

2 Dec 2024

• Emerging producers Daniel Cremin and Ineke Lavers announce Cork Fringe Festival.
• UCC Arts Management and Creative Producing MA graduates partner to develop new Cork Fringe.
• The festival is now open for applications for artists across theatre, comedy, music, visual art, film, and more

Two UCC alumni Daniel Cremin and Ineke Lavers are set to bring a bold new artistic vision to Cork with the founding of the Cork Fringe Festival. The Festival Co-Founders and Directors met whilst studying on UCC’s MA in Arts Management and Creative Producing.

Cork Fringe will celebrate the weird, the wonderful, and the often under-represented in the Cork arts-scene. Using both conventional and unconventional venue spaces, Cork Fringe aims to present a multi-disciplinary arts festival that nurtures new and established artists and arts professionals of all artistic disciplines.

Set to debut from 9 – 11 May 2025, the festival will give audiences the opportunity to explore a wide-reaching programme of arts stretched throughout the city in unique and intriguing locations.

Supporting and celebrating artists

Daniel and Ineke’s creative producing experience, through their experience on UCC’s Arts Management and Creative Producing MA and their professional careers, uniquely positions them to spearhead the new festival. 

Daniel Cremin said: “From our time at the World Fringe Congress in Sweden back in August, we have seen first-hand the potential that fringe festivals have to build artistic communities and we feel Cork has an abundance of arts makers who are excited to tell their stories.”

Ineke Lavers: “I am delighted to be working with Daniel towards fostering spaces in Cork for emerging artists to experiment with their art. We would love for Cork Fringe to create a legacy that promotes the merging of artistic disciplines in the city and to develop a network for artists to connect with one another and creatively cross-pollinate and enhance Cork’s arts ecology.”

Real-world creative producing

Reflecting on his experiences studying on UCC’s Arts Management and Creative Producing MA, Daniel Cremin said: “Throughout the MA in Arts Management and Creative Producing, I had the opportunity to work with some incredibly talented and likeminded individuals, as well as gaining invaluable knowledge which has proved extremely beneficial throughout the development of Cork Fringe.”

Having moved to Cork from Abu Dhabi, Ineke Lavers said: “I had an absolutely wonderful time undertaking the MA in Arts Management and Creative Producing. The course sits so authentically and relevantly within the Cork arts-scene, it's been a real catalyst for my career here and helped me develop and hone the practical toolkit for work in the arts world.”

Get involved

The Cork Fringe artist application process is now open for all artists interested in being a part of the 2025 programme and will remain open until 13 January. If you have a show, performance, or exhibition, Cork Fringe want to hear from you. Learn more here.

If you would like to be a part of the fringe volunteer network in May, or if your organisation is interested in getting involved with Cork Fringe, do get in touch with Daniel and Ineke on info@corkfringe.com