Artists

Thessaloniki Fringe is a dynamic and diverse performing arts festival that celebrates creativity, experimentation, and independent expression. It provides a platform for emerging and established artists to showcase innovative and boundary-pushing works in a supportive and inclusive environment. The festival is characterised by its unconventional approach featuring performances & workshops, that challenge traditional norms and explore new artistic territories.

You can expect a rich tapestry of performances encompassing theatre, dance, physical theatre, circus, music, family shows, spoken word, multimedia, and more. The festival aims to foster a sense of community among artists and audiences alike, promoting dialogue, collaboration, and creative exchange. It’s an event organised by the Greek non-profit organisation “Fringe Arts”and at the moment it’s the only Fringe Festival in Greece.

Thessaloniki Fringe Festival takes place in multiple venues across the city. In 2026 it will take place from 7-11 October.
You can find all the information about last years venues here and in Eventotron.

Thessaloniki Fringe Festival is a performing arts festival, showcasing international & local talent representing various genres. Theatre companies and individual artists from various disciplines can apply. We also love to hear about innovative out of the box ideas.

There is no application fee. If a show is included in the festival’s programme (that means making an agreement with a venue first) there is a participation fee of 60 Euros (40 Euros for small venues with less than 40 seats) and a refundable deposit of 150 Euros. The deposit will be returned to the artists right after their last performance at the festival.

Your participation fee contributes towards the services ThessFringe provides to administer the festival and the inclusion in the festival brochure and website listings. Participation in both is non-negotiable in order to adequately promote the festival; however, if your current financial circumstances do not allow for immediate payment, we encourage you to contact the festival team to discuss possible arrangements via mail@thessfringe.com

Carefully read the application information, the Terms & Conditions for Artists and the FAQs for artists, then go to www.eventotron.com and Sign in or Register with your email address. Once logged in, go to Festivals and look for Thessaloniki Fringe Festival.
Click the APPLY button (it will appear only when we are accepting applications) & follow the instructions in the application form.

You can go back any time to an existing application and see, complete or amend it:
– Log in to Eventotron
– Click on “My Events”
– Click on your event which has the ThessFringe logo connected to it

Yes, you can submit applications for more than one show. You can’t apply for 2 shows in the same application but you can do 2 separate applications or more.

We are mostly looking for shows with a running time of 60 minutes. We are occasionally able to accept shows with 30 or 90-minute duration but the standard slot allocation is 60 minutes (or just under).

This is depending on the venue. Some venues might offer technical support and some others might not have the capacity to do so.

During the open call artists express their interest to participate in the festival and choose venues that might be suitable for their show. During the application phase artists are asked to give information about their work, to review the festival’s terms & conditions, learn about the festival venues, and check if it’s a suitable platform for them. Once the application window is closed the festival is no longer accepting applications.

Venue managers will then review the applications and suggest a deal and specific dates and time slots to some artists. If they agree on the deal, the participation fee and the deposit fee must be paid by the artist. We encourage artists and venue managers to also sign a contract based on the details of the agreement.

For 2026, the selection process will take place in March 2026 and all shows selected for the festival should be notified by April 2026.

Thessaloniki Fringe Festival strongly supports artists being paid for their work. However, in line with the international Fringe festival model, ThessFringe’s primary role is to create an open, supportive environment for performance opportunities rather than to curate or directly fund a programme.

Any artist who secures a venue to perform at is welcome to take part in the festival. Venues curate their own programmes, and financial arrangements are agreed directly between the artist and the venue. The festival itself does not employ or pay artists.

A commonly recommended arrangement is a box office split of 50% for the artists, 40% for the venue, and 10% for the festival. That said, artists and venues are free to negotiate different terms and make arrangements that best suit their individual circumstances.

The recommended ticket price ranges from €7 to €15, depending on the venue, amount of performances and the scale of the show.

Participating in the Thessaloniki Fringe Festival brings a host of benefits. Gain exposure, present your work in a diverse audience, network with fellow artists and industry professionals, and enjoy heightened visibility through promotional efforts. Receive valuable feedback, explore new artistic realms, and engage with vibrant communities. This unique platform encourages experimentation, fostering innovation and inspiring future collaborations. Selected shows from ThessFringe will also be able to participate at other Fringe festivals we collaborate with. Our collaborations include Milan Off Fringe, Catania Fringe, Voila! Theatre Festival, Soho Playhouse New York, Sibenik Dance Festival. Find all the opportunities on the “Awards & Opportunities” page.

Yes we encourage international & local artists to apply for the festival.

Yes, we are welcoming work-in-progress applications.

You will have to further discuss this with your venue manager but generally we don’t see a problem with bringing your own tech crew.

The festival can’t provide or promise accommodation for visiting artists. Some venues might offer hosting options as part of the deal. However, we are working on finding locals that would be willing to host visiting artists.

Our accommodation partner Zeus is Loose provides a 25% discount for participating artists. Reach out early to the festival organisation and we’ll provide you with the booking code.

Each year we organise a meet & greet event where artists, art professionals and press can get together and network. In 2025 amongst others, representatives from Stockholm Fringe, Hollywood Fringe, Soho Playhouse New York and Duisburg Fringe attended the festival and it’s networking events.

The festival is responsible for promoting its programme as a whole and not individual shows. Venues & artists should work together and have a marketing strategy in place in order to spread the word about the show and attract audiences. The festival organisation will print and distribute copies of the brochure at selected spots across the city and provide a media list to artists that participate in the festival.

Yes, unfortunately we can’t programme everyone. Each year depending on the number of the venues and dates a certain number of shows could be presented.

When all 3 apply:
1. When you have secured a deal with a festival venue.
2. You have agreed to the Terms & Conditions.
3. We have successfully received your deposit and registration fee.

For any further information you can contact our programming team via email programme@thessfringe.com

You can find information about the venues on Eventotron and on our website.

As many other Fringe festivals, ThessFringe is an open access festival, with a selection process. The festival works closely with local venues, and connects artists with those venues. Artists can express interest to perform in specific venues and each venue will curate its programme based on their own criteria. The festival does not intervene with the selection process. Each venue will make their own deal with each artist they programme.
The festival does not pay artists to participate. Usually a box office split deal is made between the festival, each venue and the artists. The festival will charge a 10% handling fee from ticket sales for each show. Then the venues can either do a box office split or pay artists a standard fee.