The Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival is accepting applications for participation for its 11th edition, scheduled to take place between October 2-4, 2026 in Nicosia, Cyprus.
According to a press release, the Buffer Fringe Festival notes that in 2023, and after 10 consecutive editions, the Festival adopted a biennial format and was consciously paused to reflect on its role as an intercommunal festival in Nicosia. This pause created space and time for deeper collaborations, new artistic encounters, and programming that resonates in more sustainable ways.
Buffer Fringe is a festival that highlights the powerful role of arts and culture in peaceful coexistence and positive societal transformation. This edition returns to the roots of what makes Buffer Fringe the unique Festival that it is: a space for those who ‘dare to challenge’.
The call for applications is open to Cyprus-based and international artists and artist groups and invites solo or collaborative pieces of max 45 minutes. Participating acts of all forms of experimental and interdisciplinary performance work are accepted, including but not limited to theatre, music, installation/visual art, and other cross-disciplinary elements. Participatory, durational and/or site-specific proposals are also welcomed. The festival values work that recognizes and incorporates its decolonizing agenda, its peacebuilding mission, and social solidarity aims. Local artists are highly encouraged to apply.
The deadline for applications is April 30, 2026.
APPLICATIONS ARE ACCEPTED THROUGH THE HOME FOR COOPERATION WEBSITE: https://www.home4cooperation.info/buffer-fringe-2026/
MORE INFO ON THE FESTIVAL: https://bufferfringe.org/
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR INQUIRIES: bufferfringe@home4coopeation.info
About Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival
The Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival, launched in 2014 by the Home for Cooperation, showcases innovative and interdisciplinary work by local and international artists. Rooted in Nicosia’s buffer zone, it explores how art can challenge barriers, foster dialogue, and support conflict transformation. As Cyprus’s only Fringe festival, it brings together diverse communities across the divide, promoting creativity, and exchange.
About the Home for Cooperation
The Home for Cooperation is a cultural space in Nicosia’s UN buffer zone, fostering dialogue and positive conflict transformation between members of the communities across the divide. Founded in 2011 by the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR), it serves as a bridge and safe meeting place in an in-between space. The Home hosts an extensive variety of cultural, artistic, and educational programs and activities with the aim of nurturing creativity and intercultural trust in Cyprus and internationally.