Sydney Fringe has announced its long-serving CEO and Festival Director, Kerri Glasscock will be stepping down in June 2025 after 12 years with the Festival to take up the role of Executive Director of Create NSW.  A leading advocate for the independent arts sector, during Glasscock’s 12 years leading Sydney Fringe she has overseen significant transformation and strategic growth at the organisation, leaving a lasting legacy and a strong foundation for future expansion.

Glasscock increased the profile of Sydney Fringe from a small community event to the largest independent arts festival in NSW that has supported more than 10,000 artists. During her tenure she developed significant national and international touring and award partnerships, providing local artists with financial and logistical support for touring opportunities, while also bringing stand-out independent work to Sydney audiences.

Glasscock also led the way in regulatory reform, contributing to lasting change for the arts sector and Sydney’s night-time economy through key action plans and policies including: the NSW Government’s cultural policy Creative Communities, the Australian Government’s national cultural policy Revive, and the NSW Government’s 24 Hour Economy Strategy. In her role at Sydney Fringe Glasscock championed the temporary re-adaptive use of space for performance that resulted in the now nationally recognised report, An Anthology of Space 2015 – 2018.

Maree Taylor, Chair of Sydney Fringe, said:

“Throughout Kerri’s time at Sydney Fringe she has worked tirelessly to place independent artists at the heart of our city. Sydney Fringe has experienced an extraordinary period of growth under her leadership, tripling ticketed attendance and most importantly increasing box office revenue back to artists by over 400%. The impact of our festival continues to be valued by our partners with Government investment increasing over the past six years by threefold, and our festival now generating an economic impact of $40m+ annually. The recognition of Kerri’s work culminated in the NSW Government naming the Sydney Fringe Festival as a Foundation Event this year, laying the groundwork for the next exciting period of growth starting with the 2025 festival. We wish Kerri the very best in her new role, and have no doubt that through her leadership, passion and dedication she will have a substantial impact on the sector.”

Kerri Glasscock, CEO and Festival Director, said:

“Working for the Sydney Fringe over the past 12 years to grow our festival while serving our community of artists has been an absolute joy and a role that I have never taken for granted. Our festival is very much created by and made for our local artists, being able to steward the festival’s strategic direction over this time has been an immense privilege and a career highlight for me personally. There are so many exciting things on the horizon for Sydney Fringe starting with an incredible program of events for September 2025. I leave knowing that the passionate and dedicated team here will deliver an extraordinary festival and next chapter for the organisation. I truly believe our local artists are our State’s greatest asset and I look forward to being able to continue to champion them in my new role at Create NSW.”

The Board of Sydney Fringe has commenced a formal recruitment process for the next CEO and Festival Director, with Kerri Glasscock  remaining in the role until June 2025.