Venue 13

Category: A.I. Campfire

  • Venue 13 Returns — Stronger, Braver, and Ready for the Future

    Venue 13 Returns — Stronger, Braver, and Ready for the Future

    We’re back — and we’re officially incorporated!

    We’re thrilled to announce that Venue 13 Fringe Ltd is now an official company registered with Companies House. After decades of supporting independent and international artists at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Venue 13 is stepping into an exciting new era — with a year-round vision, a nonprofit trust in development, and a model rooted in care, sustainability, and community.

    A Legacy Worth Building On

    Since 1980, Venue 13 has provided a launchpad for emerging and risk-taking performance. Originally founded by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and later managed by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, our little black box has hosted the early careers of artists like David Tennant, and has supported hundreds more to find their voice on the world’s biggest arts stage.

    But we’re not just celebrating the past — we’re building the future.

    When the RWCMD closed up shop in 2024, our new Directors, Ian Garrett and Vanesa Kelly, stepped in. Ian, who first presented at Venue 13 in 2008, and Vanesa, a creative force in Edinburgh’s sustainable arts community, are now reimagining what a Fringe venue can be.

    What’s New?

    With our official incorporation, we can now:

    • Offer shareholding opportunities to mission-aligned partners
    • Launch the Venue 13 Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to outreach and artist support
    • Run year-round programming and workshops
    • Provide full-service Fringe support: PR, tech, housing, and touring help
    • Build a digital archive and hybrid performance platform
    • Open Market 13 — a new space for food, crafts, and community exchange

    In short: we’re becoming more than just a venue. We’re becoming an artist-centered ecosystem.

    This Year’s Programme

    We’re kicking off this new chapter with two deeply resonant projects:

    🌍 Climate Change Theatre Action 2025
     The global launch of the 10th anniversary of CCTA takes place at Venue 13! This month-long series of short climate plays reminds us all: The Time Is Now.

    🔥 A.I. Campfire
     An immersive media experience that blends AI, folklore, and ecological grief. Come sit by the fire and experience a story told through code, myth, and memory.

    We Need You

    To realize this vision, we’re calling on our community to help co-create the future of Venue 13. We’ve launched a crowdfunding campaign with a goal of £13,000 — every contribution goes directly toward supporting artists, upgrading our tech, launching the Trust, and bringing Market 13 to life.

    🟢 Support the campaign here

    From shout-outs to signed anthologies, we’ve got some meaningful thank-you perks lined up. But more importantly, your support helps build an inclusive, sustainable, artist-first model — not just for this August, but for the long term.

    Ready to Go Further?

    We’re also opening up investment opportunities for those who want to partner with us more deeply. If you’re interested in being part of the sustainable creative infrastructure we’re building, reach out to us. Let’s talk.

    📧 Contact us at: info@venue13.com

    Join the Movement

    Venue 13 isn’t just a place. It’s a promise — to centre artistry, champion equity, and make room for bold, brave performance.

    If you’ve ever loved the Fringe, ever stood on our stage, or ever dreamed of what a better festival could look like — now’s your time to step into the circle.

    Follow us: @venue13fringe
    Explore the 2025 programme: www.venue13.com
    Support the campaign: crowdfund.edfringe.com/p/venue13returns

    Together, let’s make Fringe history — again.

    Venue 13 LTD Press ReleaseDownload

  • Venue 13 Presents A.I. Campfire at Edinburgh Fringe 2025

    Venue 13 Presents A.I. Campfire at Edinburgh Fringe 2025

    As we prepare for another vibrant year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, we’re pleased to announce A.I. Campfire as part of our 2025 programme at Venue 13. This 20-minute immersive experience stands out for its thoughtful integration of digital storytelling and Scottish folklore, offering audiences a moment of reflection around a sculptural fire where past, present, and speculative futures converge.

    Created by Toasterlab and directed by Ian Garrett—whose work many will remember from Aionos (ZOO, 2023) and Transmission (Futureplay/Assembly, 2017)—A.I. Campfire brings together emerging technologies and ancestral knowledge in a way that feels grounded and considered. Garrett, who also serves as Associate Professor of Ecological Design for Performance at York University in Toronto, has long explored the intersection of sustainability, scenography, and immersive design. His scenographic approach, informed by ecoscenographic principles, shapes a multisensory environment where sound, light, and spatial composition evolve in real time with the narrative.

    Audiences are invited to join Symbiolene, an A.I. entity trained on centuries of myth and oral tradition, as it channels stories of Selkies, Kelpies, and other shapeshifting spirits deeply rooted in Scottish culture. Written, co-directed and co-produced by Vanesa Kelly of V-Kind Arts and Theatre, this is a debut production that signals a meaningful commitment to stories that reconnect us with the land and with each other. Kelly’s approach acknowledges the role technology might play in revitalizing ancestral teachings, and A.I. Campfire is the result of a collaboration that balances technological curiosity with cultural reverence.

    This is not a show about replacing tradition with machines. Instead, it raises questions about what we choose to remember—and how we might listen differently when stories are told in unfamiliar ways. We’re excited to share this work with Fringe audiences and proud to host it at Venue 13.

    Tickets for A.I. Campfire are now live via the Edinburgh Fringe website:

    🔗 https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/a-i-campfire

    We look forward to welcoming you to the fire.

    Venue 13 Launch_ A.I. Campfire Press ReleaseDownload