Fringe Festival adds 'no show' fundraiser for flood-affected artists

A last-minute "silent show" has been added to the New Zealand Fringe Festival to support artists affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.

"It’s the only show we want you to buy a ticket for and not attend so it’s going to be a fundraiser," Fringe Festival director Vanessa Stacey told 1News.

Some artists in Napier’s Waiohiki Arts Village have lost more than galleries and venues, she said.

"Some residential artists are now homeless."

Stacey says she’s aware that many artists in the festival want to donate the revenue from their shows. However, the "no show" gives the public an option to donate directly to East Coast artists.

"We just want to be artists helping artists," she said.

Playwright Faumuina Felolini Maria Tafuna’i agrees, saying the arts community will wrap around the artists affected by the floods.

"I hope they know that when they find their feet again the rest of us creators in Aotearoa will support them when they step up again," she said.

Her play, My Grandfather’s A Canoe, opened in the capital on Friday.

"It's a story of Pacific connection. It's all the ways we're connected across the ocean in the stories of our parents, our ancestors."

She’s encouraging aspiring Pasifika artists to share their stories too.

"Our people will support you so just go out and give it a go," she said.

Tickets to the "no show" can be purchased through the Fringe Festival website.

The New Zealand Fringe Festival is showcasing over 160 events spread across 43 venues, and will run until March 11.