Wandsworth Arts Fringe

For seventeen days each June, Wandsworth Arts Fringe fills the borough with an open programme of shows, gigs, exhibitions, and outdoor work. Audiences travel from across London and beyond to catch new work in churches, studios, pubs, parks, and theatres.

WAF is an open access arts festival. There is no selection panel: if you can secure a venue and meet the festival criteria, you can register a project.

Since 2010, WAF has brought together hundreds of artists and companies each year for theatre and comedy, live music, visual art, experimental performance, outdoor projects, and more, staged in neighbourhoods from Battersea to Roehampton.

WAF is built to be inclusive across art forms and career stages. We offer development support through professional and peer advice, WAF Creatives Sessions for networking and planning, and artist toolkits covering access, marketing, safeguarding, sustainability, evaluation, and practical production questions.

We aim to give every participant a clear path from first idea to public showing, whether you are an established organisation, a community group, or an independent maker looking to take part for the first time.

WAF In Your Living Room began in 2018 as a strand for housebound audiences. It remains part of how we share selected work online so more people can follow the festival from home.

Wandsworth Arts Fringe is produced with Wandsworth Council, which backs arts and culture across the borough. The festival is funded by the council with additional support from Arts Council England.

Find out more about taking part

“I wanted to say thank you for this year. It has been both challenging and rewarding for YoPro to take part in WAF and we are so grateful for your support throughout. We always felt listened to and understood, and found a really safe environment to develop our work. WAF has been a proper stepping stone in our development and we feel so lucky to have had this opportunity as emerging producers.”

Emilie Labourey, YoPro Collective

"Usually as independent dance artists one feels alone, unsupported and stuck in continuous struggle. When we're part of WAF it's the opposite. We feel part of something bigger and very well supported through the meetings, the information, the in-kind offerings and most importantly because of Cath! Her support and help and positive feedback and encouragement don't just mean the world to us, they also allow us to grow and improve."

Lucia Schweigert (Kaleidoscopic Arts Platform)

Young people shaping the conversation

WAF runs dedicated programmes for young reporters, reviewers, and producers so teenagers and students can respond to live work in their own words. Participants receive mentoring, deadlines that mirror professional practice, and publication on the WAF website alongside staff-written news.

Those projects keep the festival catalogue honest about what landed with local audiences, and they build skills that carry into study, work, and independent creative practice. Browse the News section for recent reviews, interviews, and open calls when the next cohort opens.

Impact and learning

The 2023 edition welcomed audiences of over 18,000 and put more than 1,400 local artists and creatives on stage, in galleries, and in community spaces, including 428 billed artists and 928 wider creative roles across the programme.

Our 2023 impact and learning report (PDF) sets out attendance highlights, inclusion measures, environmental notes, and lessons we carried into later festivals. For newer headlines, grants, and commissions after that year, check News and opportunities for the latest posts.