Hollywood Fringe Loudly Recommits to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

Dear Fringers,

In this last week, we’ve seen unprecedented threats to the freedom of expression in the arts in the United States. Companies nationwide are withdrawing their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion across the board. Government institutions are scrambling to align with new, daily-issued executive orders.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has new initiatives in their typical open-access arts funding that ask us to shift our work to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary while silently adding in new guidelines that do not align with our work at Hollywood Fringe.

This same NEA program funded our Scholarship Program from 2016-2023, and encouraged the start of our Access Advisory Board; programs that now would be barred under these new guidelines.

These changes to NEA funding are significant. Non-profit arts organizations like the Hollywood Fringe operate on tight budgets, and NEA grants have been key to sustaining their programs. Without this support, many initiatives—and the organization’s future—are at risk.

These restrictions also send a broader, troubling message: federal support for the arts now comes with ideological conditions. This threatens to silence marginalized voices and limit artistic freedom.

Here at Hollywood Fringe, we want to reiterate that we are not backing down on our commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. If we did not do work to make this Festival a reflection of the city around us, who would we be? To create that safe space takes work, especially in anti-racism and disability justice. Our artists and audiences deserve it.

We additionally will not be asking for money from organizations that exclude members of our community from their programming, including the National Endowment for the Arts. We refuse to take any part in this attack on our artists’ right to live and create freely.

Our Scholarship Program, Accessibility and Anti-Racism Workshops, and Access Advisory Board are not going anywhere. These programs are vital to our success as an organization, artistic platform, and community.

To our artists who identify as BIPOC, MENA, AAPI, Trans, Non-Binary, Intersex, Women, Disabled, d/Deaf and other affected artists, we will not stop fighting for your inclusion in the arts. We celebrate you and the stories you bring to our festival.

It has become essential for Hollywood Fringe (and like-minded organizations) to seek alternative funding sources to do the work that matters: from providing scholarships to first-time producers from underrepresented communities to inviting the festival’s access advisory board to assess our organizational practices, and striving to create fair conditions for both artists and staff. These may include private donors, philanthropic foundations, and grassroots fundraising efforts to sustain and expand our impact.

We will be launching our annual Commissioners Club Campaign this week, and we will need you, our community, to stand with us as we make this important appeal.

While challenges lie ahead, our commitment to inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic freedom remains unwavering. With your support, Hollywood Fringe will continue to be a home for community and creativity.

Will you join us?

The Hollywood Fringe Staff + Board of Directors