THE STORY OF BLUE FRINGE
"Submerged" by Lili Baran - coloured pencil drawing
“The Blue Fringe Arts Prize totally changed the way I thought about myself. It gave me my self-confidence back”
“Blue Fringe is an opportunity to be heard, to be seen. It opens up conversations. It brings mental illness out of the darkness and into the light”
Since 1992...
The Blue Fringe Arts Awards originated as the Adrienne Brown Awards in 1992. Adrienne had schizophrenia and found relief through her love of poetry, the arts and music. After her death in 1990, her family created the Awards in memory of Adrienne’s battle with schizophrenia. The family recognised the valuable role that artistic expression played in their daughter’s life. From this, emerged the Blue Fringe Art & Literature Festival.
Throughout its life, Blue Fringe has showcased the talents of thousands of poets, artists and story tellers. For many it is the first time they have shared their work publicly and for some the experience is life changing…
Over the years, Blue Fringe artworks have been exhibited in Braemar Gallery at Springwood, Lawson Public School and even the Old Library Building in Katoomba in between COVID lockdowns.
Blue Fringe was warmly welcomed to Wentworth Falls TAFE in 2012 and we continue to enjoy a great partnership with the college, staff and students.
Literature really came into its own with the first the Collected Works Book in 2020. For the first time, all the stories and poems could be read alongside the artworks. The book continues to play a very important role in the Blue Fringe story.
COVID forced us to think outside the box and for two years we held all our committee meetings via Zoom. 2020 brought all sorts of challenges for us and we managed to host the entire awards ceremony online, with pre-recorded judges and all the speeches. Post COVID, Blue Fringe Arts has won a Mental Health Matters Community Event Award and the Blue Mountains City Council Australia Day Award for a Community Event.
BLUE FRINGE AIMS TO
- celebrate of the creativity of people with a lived experience of mental health
- reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and focus instead on mental health
- create conversations about the benefit of creative pursuits for mental health and well-being
- promote a more socially inclusive community
- provide an opportunity to exhibit the work of emerging artists
