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Adelaide Fringe's Honey Pot program is an international arts marketplace designed to create lasting connections and career opportunities for participating artists and their shows. This resource provides an overview of what Honey Pot is, how it operates, and the significant impact it has had over its (now) 18-year history in launching careers and facilitating global touring for Fringe artists.

Contents

15 Years of Honey Pot Booklet

For detailed insights into the Honey Pot program and its history, you can explore the official booklet: 15 Years of Honey Pot Booklet (PDF)

What is Honey Pot?

The Honey Pot program is Adelaide Fringe's bespoke international arts marketplace, established 18 years ago to facilitate the building of long-term relationships between participating Fringe artists and arts industry professionals. While Adelaide Fringe has been a springboard for artists for over 60 years, Honey Pot was created to offer a dedicated matchmaking service to deliver more concrete outcomes for artists.

The program emerged from an idea to replicate the success of a film marketplace model called "The MeetMarket," adapting it to suit the unique environment of the Adelaide Fringe. It started as an intimate gathering of around 10 delegates and has since grown into a large-scale marketplace with significant industry impact.

Honey Pot hosts industry programmers, presenters, and producers from around the world, placing a range of Fringe artists directly in front of them who are available for future programming and touring. Delegates meet artists and also see their shows in front of live audiences, providing a clear picture of how a show might fit into their own programming.

How it Works

Honey Pot curates a tailored, industry-specific program of activities designed to offer delegates and artists opportunities to connect, network, and pitch their work. These activities include:

  • Creative Surgeries
  • Brunches
  • Match-making Sessions
  • Roundtable Discussions
  • HoneyCombs
  • HIVES

Approximately a third of the Adelaide Fringe program opts into the Honey Pot marketplace to showcase their work to industry professionals during their Fringe season. Honey Pot showcases a diverse range of shows, including:

  • Tour Ready works
  • New and exciting shows
  • Independent artists & producers
  • National & International shows
  • In development works
  • Diverse, bold & creatively challenging shows
  • Large-scale, mid-size and small/intimate works

What Honey Pot Achieves

Honey Pot has become integral to the sustainability and life cycles of hundreds of artists, delivering significant outcomes and helping shows have a life beyond Adelaide Fringe.

For Artists

Artists participating in Honey Pot gain direct access to delegates who can book them for future touring opportunities. Many artists credit Honey Pot with providing unprecedented opportunities and opening doors to the international stage. For example:

  • Gravity & Other Myths: This circus company was booked by Wolfgang Hoffmann, Director of Aurora Nova from Germany, in the early days of Honey Pot, propelling them onto the international stage. Their work has since toured extensively, with many Asian presenters seeing their shows first at Adelaide Fringe.
  • Matt Tarrant: The magician highlights how Honey Pot connects artists with International Festivals, Booking Agents, and Television Executives, enabling international touring from Australia.
  • Wright and Grainger: From their involvement, this UK theatre duo secured bookings in New York and various festivals across Australia and New Zealand, emphasizing Honey Pot as a "perfect networking system" where a world tour can be booked "without leaving the room".
  • Lewis Major: This choreographer noted that Honey Pot is "not just a chance to show work to potential presenters, programmers and curators," but also about fostering "relationships, personal development, networking, project opportunities, collaboration opportunities, partnerships, exchanges, and perhaps most importantly, friendships and community".
  • Henry Naylor: The multi-award-winning UK playwright described Honey Pot as unique globally for bringing artists, bookers, producers, and media together in an informal setting, directly leading to his show "Games" having a two-month, sell-out run off-Broadway in New York.
  • Circus Trick Tease: Producer Malia Walsh credits Honey Pot's casual atmosphere as a "safe space to learn how to pitch shows" and states that "The longevity of my productions hinge, almost entirely, on Honey Pot".

For Delegates

Industry delegates choose Honey Pot for the personal connections they form with artists and the high-quality service provided by the Honey Pot team. Signing up for Honey Pot has inspired and creatively enhanced hundreds of programs, venues, and festivals worldwide. Delegates include Venue Programmers, Festival Directors & Producers, Theatre Curators, Artist Reps, and more.

  • Divya Bhatia (Jodhpur RIFF, India): Values Honey Pot for the ability to meet and dialogue with Australian arts professionals without extensive travel across the country, leading to direct bookings.
  • Darren Lee Cole (SoHo Playhouse NYC, USA): Praised Honey Pot as a "relaxed, organised and a super connector" that has mastered the challenge of identifying and connecting international acts with presenters, allowing him to "pick up some fantastic shows" for New York.
  • Richard Jordan (Richard Jordan Productions, UK): Highlights the "personalisation and the skill of the Honey Pot team to put delegates in front of artists," noting that Adelaide Fringe has set an example for other Fringe festivals globally in running a fruitful marketplace.

Summary

  • Honey Pot is Adelaide Fringe’s international arts marketplace, connecting artists with industry professionals to create touring and programming opportunities.
  • Over 18 years, it has grown from a small initiative to a large-scale program with global impact on artists' careers.
  • The program facilitates valuable relationships through various networking activities, helping artists secure future bookings and build long-term careers beyond Fringe.
  • Honey Pot is praised by both artists and delegates for its effectiveness in fostering connections and delivering tangible career outcomes.

Additional Resources

For more detailed insights into the Honey Pot program and its history, you can explore the official booklet:

If you have further questions, please contact the relevant Adelaide Fringe department: