In the wake of COVID‑19, many Fringe Festivals in Australia, as well as internationally, repackaged their scheduled programs to be performed digitally. This was done to account for lockdowns, venue capacity limits and other restrictions aimed at managing the spread of the novel coronavirus. Before COVID‑19, disability advocates had been petitioning for digital access to events in addition to or as a replacement for the offline version believing digital events in the arts and other industries could provide opportunities for previously been denied or ignored access.
Widespread access to digital events after COVID‑19 is unprecedented – working from home arrangements, socialising, entertainment and many other areas have been significantly transformed through the now (relatively) commonplace availability of digital meeting and streaming platforms such as Zoom, Discord or Twitch. Digital Fringe events therefore may increase the accessibility of Fringe for people with disability (PWD) as an unintended consequence of trying to keep Fringe running during COVID‑19 restrictions.
Fringe Festivals nationally and globally have made efforts to meet the access needs of PWD and have acknowledged that the arts (and Fringe more specifically) should be for everyone. Paradoxically, however, although Digital Fringe is more accessible to many, the narrative of inclusivity is less visible and more incidental than it is in the promotion of in‑person Fringe events. As such, this report emphasises the need to reconcile the inclusion and accessibility work that is being done incidentally through Digital Fringe with already-established accessibility narratives and practices. Doing so will strengthen the role of Fringe Festivals as allies of PWD.