FRINGE LAB

Dublin Fringe Festival’s FRINGE LAB is both physical rehearsal space and a platform of activities for training and learning, providing vital and in-demand workspace, skill-sharing, mentorship and supports for established and early career artists year-round. 

FRINGE LAB’s reach is broad, creating a hub in-person and online for independent artists across the island of Ireland. The mentorship, workshop and talks programme engages leading Irish and international artists to guide, diversify and stimulate the work of early career Irish artists, while the practical use of workspace in Dublin provides a vital space to create, play and envision future projects.

FRINGE LAB provides essential space for artists and companies to work.  We provide access to two large studios, an office space for our Resident Artists, access to closed door office space the Workstation and our drop-in foyer work space. Studio 2 is available for commercial hire at affordable rates for remounts, shoots, etc. Access to Studio 1 and Workstation are free for the development of new work. Dublin Fringe Festival is the home of bold, interdisciplinary new work, a lot of which is generated from within the FRINGE LAB studios. We’re here to support its development through use of free space, whether that’s a room to write in, a space to run a work-in-progress of your most recent draft or a rehearsal room.

You can find more info on each space below and see studio specifications here and contact us on fringelab@fringefest.com to book.

Studio 1

FRINGE LAB Studio 1 (5m x 14m) is a dedicated space for the development of new work. This bright studio is available free of charge, 12 hours per day, seven days per week on an application basis. Check out our online calendar here for availability. Please note priority is given to those making work for the festival from June to September annually.

Studio 2

FRINGE LAB Studio 2 (6.2m x 10m) is available to hire for rehearsals, auditions, film work, workshops, meetings and presentations at a very competitive rate. This studio can be blacked out for filming or projection work.

Workstation

The Workstation is a quiet closed door office space dedicated to writers, makers and producers who need silence to work. You can book this space from Monday-Friday for a full day (10am-6pm) or half day (10am-2pm, 2pm-6pm). You can book your slot by filling out our short reservation form here.

Drop-in Foyer

The FRINGE LAB foyer is a drop-in facility with free Wi-Fi and access to printing facilities in the main office. Bring your own laptop and use our communal workspace. It’s also possible to use this space for small meetings. No need to book, the space is available on a first-come, first-served basis and these drop-in facilities are available during office hours: Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm.

FRINGE LAB x Squarespace partnership 2023-24  
 

Dublin Fringe Festival and Squarespace have joined forces for an exciting new partnership, FRINGE LAB powered by Squarespace. 

Dublin Fringe Festival's FRINGE LAB provides a platform and space for artists to develop their artistic practice, foster a creative community, share their stories, and engage with audiences. In the coming year, Dublin Fringe Festival will partner with Squarespace to extend FRINGE LAB’s reach and influence by continuing to support the ambitions of Irish artists and makers. 

FRINGE LAB powered by Squarespace Program  
 

Dublin Fringe Festival and Squarespace will work together to enrich FRINGE LAB. Through this partnership, artists will have access to tailored workshops, led by Squarespace experts and mentorship opportunities from multi-disciplinary performer and creative PJ Kirby,  aimed at enhancing their skills and supporting their artistic development. Both organisations share a commitment to nurturing creativity, supporting emerging talent, and helping artists thrive in the digital era.  

Dublin Fringe Festival and Squarespace look forward to an inspiring year ahead filled with innovative workshops and opportunities for artists that will help shape the future of Irish arts and culture.

Keep informed about upcoming activities by visiting this page. 

Read more about this exciting partnership on our NEWS page 

FRINGE LAB provides year-round practical and artistic support, responding to the needs of the artistic community, from developing to established artists, across locations and disciplines. Artists also have access to Fringe’s own in-house expertise across a wide range of disciplines, such as producing, marketing and publicity, with an ongoing schedule of workshops, masterclasses with Irish and international experts, networking events, scratch nights and a host of other activities devoted to cultivating connections and expertise. We have casual and more embedded opportunities to connect across a host of events and networking opportunities.

Dublin Fringe Festival also provides a suite of support to all artists programmed in the festival each year including producing, artistic and marketing support.

You can read more about ways to connect below:

FRINGE LAB Programme 

An annual programme of workshops, events and work-in-progress opportunities that respond to the expressed needs of artists in our community. You can take a look at our current and past programming here.

Elevenses

On the last Friday of every month we run our monthly coffee morning Elevenses in Fringe HQ on Sycamore Street and online. Elevenses was set up as an opportunity for artists who are freelance, work on their own or are just in the area and fancy popping by to connect with other artists, theatre makers, producers or freelancers over a cup of tea or coffee. It’s also a chance to connect with the Fringe team on an informal basis and to have a look around the facilities available at FRINGE LAB, if you haven’t yet been into Fringe HQ. And there’s always something nice to eat!

There’s no need to RSVP, just drop by at 11am. New faces and repeat attenders welcome! Following on from the success of online Elevenses during lock-down we will continue to run every third session online.

Artistic Meetings

Dublin Fringe Festival’s Artistic Team are always delighted to meet with you to talk through your big ideas: both for projects and your own career trajectories! Get in touch to set up a meeting with David and Bee (our Artistic Director and Artistic Project Manager) from October – March. These meetings tend to be 30 – 45 minutes and you set the agenda! It’s useful if you come prepared, so let us know what you want to discuss and any particular questions you might have ahead of time (if you can!) Don’t worry if you’re not Dublin based or able to travel to our offices, we are also happy to facilitate phone/ digital meetings.

National Reach

Don’t worry if you’re not Dublin based! While our building may be in Dublin city centre we’re working hard to extend FRINGE LAB’s reach. You can look out for ways to connect with us through:

• Application Q&A on tour: Artistic Director David Francis Moore and Artistic Projects Manager Bee Sparks visit numerous cities in Fringe application season (Jan to March) to give application workshops and meet with artists across Ireland to talk through their projects. Join our mailing list to stay up to date when we announce the 2022 stops!
• Invite us! We are always happy to travel to see work when we can – if you have a great new show you want us to see, get in touch! You can reach Bee here.
• Artist at Work: as FRINGE LAB’s annual contribution to the Festival programme we support a number of residencies across Ireland during the Festival dates. You can find out more here.

Our FRINGE LAB Resident Artists are a huge part of the life of Dublin Fringe HQ and we’ve been very lucky over the years to have incredible talent take up residence in the Artist's Office. Our Resident Artists connect with us on an annual basis, from Jan – Dec and we provide space to work in our city centre office, support and advice from the Fringe team and a great opportunity to network with other talented peers. 

Our 2024 Resident Artists are:

• Artist Office Residents have a free, shared office space with a full-time desk here at Dublin Fringe HQ to make their own, 7 days a week. Our 2024 Artist Office Residents are:  Aoife Sweeney O’Connor, Jafaris and tasteinyourmouth, made up of William Dunleavy, Grace Morgan and Laoise Murray. 

You can see more on our current Resident Artists here and our wonderful alumni here.

Our 2024 Associate Artists are: 

We are thrilled to have Áine O'Hara and Maïa Nunes as Dublin Fringe Festival Associate Artists for 2024. We are excited to collaborate with Áine & Maïa, supporting them to share their expertise  and mentorship with the Dublin Fringe community and to see their work continue to develop and grow. 

Reach out to Artistic Projects Manager Bee if you’d like to discuss the Resident Artists scheme and check the News section of our website in from October – November when applications open for 2025. 

Introduce yourself!
1. I am an artist/collective/production company developing new work. Introduce yourself here.
2. I am an individual/group/organisation interested in commercial studio here. Introduce yourself here.

Sign up to our FRINGE LAB mailing list here to get programme updates and industry-wide artist opportunities.

Join our Facebook group here.

Come along to one of our events, Elevenses is always a good way to introduce yourself to the Fringe team and get to know Fringe HQ.

We always want to hear your big ideas! FRINGE LAB is managed by Artistic Projects Manager, Bee Sparks and Artistic & FRINGE LAB Assistant, Niamh Murtagh - do get in touch with us if you have a great idea for a workshop or collaboration with FRINGE LAB!

Dublin Fringe Festival are committed to accessibility.

• We are committed to keeping a portion of our FRINGE LAB programme running digitally
• Accessible versions of our Festival Application Materials are available here
• We would love to talk to you about adding access elements to your Dublin Fringe event
• We are hosting and developing a living document hosting resources that focus on best practise and interesting resources around increasing accessibility. Please let us know if you have resources you'd like to add. 

Let us know your needs: if you are interested in working with us or coming to an event and you have access needs please reach out and we will endeavour to do what we can to meet them.

FRINGE LAB has a host of great equipment available to artists using the space, from podcasting equipment, to self-tape set-up, to projectors! We’re always excited to collaborate with artists on using these things: do have a podcast you can’t wait to get off the ground, a track you need to mix, or a film you want to screen?

View our full equipment list here. Get in touch with Niamh to set up a time to use it!