Each year, The Necessary Stage has been consistently curating and bringing together a plethora of local and international fringe performance work that becomes the Singapore Fringe Festival, calling to attention urgent issues affecting community and society. After a successful 2024 edition, the 2025 edition of the Singapore Fringe Festival will mark M1’s final year as its dedicated donor, after 20 years of support. The Necessary Stage (TNS) is now urgently seeking financial support from individuals, organisations and corporations, as well as a new title sponsor to secure the continued survival of the annual Singapore Fringe Festival for 2026 and beyond, which the company curates and organises each year.

First launched in 2005, the Singapore Fringe Festival is a grounds-up initiative that featured provocative and thoughtful contemporary art with a strong social orientation. It has featured over a thousand Singapore and international work over its two decades in existence, becoming a much-anticipated main feature of Singapore’s arts and cultural calendar for local audiences. In particular, the festival has also been known for its dedication to nurturing, commissioning and platforming independent artists and collectives, particularly young emerging artistic voices with compelling visions and robust belief in social engagement.

The 2025 festival will continue as planned from 8 to 19 January, with a curated programme of thought-provoking works. However, The Necessary Stage is still in search of a Title Donor for the 2026 festival, following the end of a fruitful partnership with local mobile network operator, M1 Limited. The Necessary Stage recognises that as a non-profit company, without a key financial supporter, the continuation of the festival is now in a perilous position.

In response to the end of the partnership with M1, Alvin Tan, Artistic Director of The Necessary Stage says, “We are very grateful to M1 for their title sponsorship of the Singapore Fringe Festival since 2005. They have been an incredible longstanding donor and supporter over the past twenty years. The Fringe has been a robust advocate for independent artists and collectives over the last two decades, and most of all, for young creative voices with socially relevant work.”

Tan adds, “Without a title donor, the Singapore Fringe Festival may completely cease to exist. The end of the Fringe will undoubtedly impact the arts community adversely. It will also mean that a key platform for thought-provoking, socially relevant art may cease to exist for the Singapore audience.”

The festival has a unique identity and well-established standing as an event that highlighted critical social issues, ranging from wars and the refugee crises, caregiving, climate change, the plight of migrant workers in Singapore, systemic inequality, mental health, and the LGBTQ community. The festival has also amplified independent artistic voices and young artists by providing mentorship, administration, marketing, and production support.

In addition, the festival has made great strides in its efforts to be one of the most inclusive and accessible arts events in the Singapore calendar, through the integration of open captions, Singapore Sign Language interpretations, audio description, and speech to text interpretation for its performances, as well as other accessibility features for information dissemination on its website and wayfinding to venues.

As such, the company will be launching a fundraising drive. The Fringe Festival Fund hopes to raise $50,000 from individuals, partners and supporters who are keen to keep the festival going in 2026 and beyond. The Necessary Stage is appealing to the public to step forward and support independent voices and socially engaged art.

To contribute towards the Fringe Festival Fund, visit donate.necessary.org or Giving.sg.

The 2025 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival will run from 8th to 19th January 2025. More information and full line-up to be revealed on 5th November 2024.