July 4th – July 27th 2025 Milton Keynes Fringe Festival, the city’s eagerly anticipated biennial arts event, is thrilled to announce its return for July 2025.
This multi-platform showcase for emerging and established artists will present a vibrant programme of innovative and exciting exhibitions, performance, experimental sound, music, and installations.
Presented alongside the IF: Milton Keynes International Festival, MK Fringe promises an alternative, exciting cultural experience for audiences this July with a focus on the local.
Leading the charge for the 2025 Fringe will be newly appointed co-directors Ciara Callaghan and Madeleine Wilkie. Both accomplished artists with individual practices in sculpture, Callaghan and Wilkie bring a wealth of combined experience in production, curation, and direction to their new roles.
In reference to the Fringe being under a co-directorship, the theme for 2025 Fringe is an exploration of collaboration; what emerges when creative practices come together to create something new, the challenges, joys and intricacies of the process. This theme will be continuous through curated exhibitions, listening spaces, a publication and activations. Fringe prides itself for representing local to Milton Keynes artists and exploring the way the city has impacted the artist’s practice, Milton Keynes being another part of the convergence.
Fringe is committed to transparency and fairness, aiming to be part of a wider movement drawing attention to common issues in the arts surrounding diversity, fair pay, and inclusion. The festival aims to work in an open and fluid manner, actively inviting conversation and feedback from both the arts community and the wider community of Milton Keynes.
The 2025 Fringe programme will specifically highlight visual arts, performance, and sound, promising a diverse and engaging experience for attendees.
MK Fringe Festival will run from 04 – 27 July 2025 across Central Milton Keynes. www.mkfringefestival.com
KEY EVENTS
JULY 2025
11th Private View for Group Show 12th ‘No Longer a Memory’ Live music event
19th Henna workshop Nuzhat Fatima
Group Show activation James Aldous and Iris Wright
Walking Festival Tour with Robin Clements
Caroline Devine Sound Installation Grafton Park
Heather Britton AV Installation
MK Gallery Tom Eke Exhibition Activation
20th Bike Tour with Hands
Henna Workshop with Nuzhat Fatima
Heather Britton AV Installation
MK Gallery Community Picnic with Richard Harrison Sculptures in Campbell Park
25th Closing Party at The Box Arts Club
26th Closed spaces sensory tour for audiences with additional needs
Ciara Callaghan and Madeleine Wilkie
Co-directors mkfringefestival@gmail.com
Claire Sapsford press.mkfringefestival@gmail.com
Image and interview requests to Claire Sapsford
www.mkfringefestival.com
