Orlando’s Fringe ArtSpace to cease operations by the end of February

ORLANDO, Fla. — An influential space in the Orlando arts community is closing shop.

Fringe ArtSpace, a year-round arts venue, will cease operations by the end of February. 

Melissa Fritzinger, managing director at the Orlando Fringe Organization, said low ticket sales, flooding concerns, a lack of parking spaces and hefty maintenance costs all contributed to the decision to close the building on Church Street.

“We’re all very sad about this,” she said. “Those maintenance costs are quite overwhelming for a small nonprofit such as ourselves in an aging space.”

Preparations are currently underway for an upcoming musical, “The Red String: A New Musical,” which is expected to kick off on Friday.

Fritzinger said losing the venue also means losing Orlando Fringe staff members.

“Unfortunately, with the closing of ArtSpace comes the loss of a venue for our local artists to perform and have rehearsal space that is affordable to them,” she said.

Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed more than $30 million in arts funding, and cited Fringe festivals as part of the reason, saying they are sexual in nature. 

“Losing the state funding has affected our organization greatly and our overall budget,” Fritzinger said. “But it is not a direct reason why we have decided to close ArtSpace.”

But she said losing arts funding from the state is going to be a ripple effect.

“You’re going to find a lot of arts organizations trying to do many more fundraisers and trying to reach out to individual donors and sponsors,” she said.

Fritzinger said the building’s closure will not have an impact on Fringe Orlando’s annual festivals — the next of which is scheduled to happen in January.