Fossil fuel company Woodside has now severed all ties with the arts company behind one of the largest fringe festivals in the world, after sustained complaints and protests over several years from performers, producers and audiences.
A Woodside spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday a philanthropic agreement with Artrage, one of Western Australia’s largest arts companies which produces the annual Fringe World festival, had been discontinued.
The spokesperson said it was Woodside’s decision not to renew the partnership late last year, 18 months after public pressure forced Artrage to withdraw Woodside’s naming rights for key Fringe World events. The sponsorship was quietly converted into a private philanthropic agreement with the arts company, at arm’s length from the festival, three weeks later.
This year’s Fringe World, which opens on 19 January, and last year staged more the 550 events across more than 100 venues, will be the first time the festival will be free of fossil fuel sponsorship in more than a decade.
The environmental activist group Fossil Free Arts said the split between Artrage and Woodside was a victory, and it would now set its sights on other major performing arts companies in Western Australia still reliant on sponsorships from oil and gas companies, including the state’s flagship ballet company and symphony orchestra.
Fossil Free Arts’ spokesperson, Anthony Collins, said the Fringe World victory had been won after a sustained five-year campaign.
“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,” Collins said in a statement.
“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.”
A spokesperson for Artrage said the company acknowledged the positive contributions obtained through Woodside’s 18 month philanthropic collaboration.
“The pandemic was a major financial challenge to Fringe World, and the Artrage team has worked tirelessly to ensure the Festival can continue and increase support for artists who were also very hard hit,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“Without sponsors like Woodside, Fringe World would not be able to present an annual platform for artists to perform and for the community to enjoy.”
Artrage declined to disclose how much support in cash and kind the oil and gas company had contributed over the past decade.
The spokesperson said the arts company had reviewed its funding model to achieve a “more balanced income portfolio”.
“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 statement said.
Woodside’s spokesperson said as global energy company with domestic and international operations, it was proud to be part of the diverse communities in which it works.
“We recognise the importance of our role in delivering mutual and sustainable social outcomes in the communities we are part of,” the statement said.
“We’ve built genuine, long-term relationships with our stakeholders and host communities over more than three decades.”
