Philadelphia Fringe Festival Presents Immersive Experience WALK AROUND PHILADELPHIA

WALK AROUND PHILADELPHIA is the the 2020 Philadelphia Fringe Festival experience facilitated by artist JJ Tiziou that will transform participants' understanding of the city.

Completing the entire perimeter has taken, on average, ~100 miles over 5.5 days. The walk can be broken into smaller segments and completed over months or years. Groups are self- organized, choose their own routes, and can undertake the walk on their own time.

Participants will be provided a four person perimeter-walking kit that will include limited- edition perimeter passports, printed maps, reflective safety belts and more. Online content will provide additional maps and resources.

Registration is sliding scale to support a breadth of participation, and a limited number of stipends up to $500/person will be made available to help make the walk accessible to those needing to take time away from income-earning activities to participate.

A special virtual reportback gathering on October 4th will bring all of the participant groups together to share what they've discovered and celebrate what they've accomplished.

Tickets are available at FringeArts.com starting August 10st.

Jacques-Jean "JJ" Tiziou creates public art experiences, hosts house concerts, and has walked the full perimeter of the city (five times.) He began his career with intenstive photo-documentation of the Fringe Festival (2003-2007) and his 85,000 sq. ft. How Philly Moves mural at PHL International Airport was recognized as one of the nation's best public art projects by Americans for the Arts.

Walk Around Philadelphia was born in 2016 from a collaboration with Ann de Forest, Adrienne Mackey & Sam Wend through a Swim Pony Performing Arts residency. Tiziou has continued the walk as an personal pilgrimage annually, lead- ing growing groups through this urban exploration. This is the first time the walk has been offered outside of February.

The Philadelphia Fringe Festival is a 4-week long, city-wide celebration of innovation and creativity in contemporary performance. This year's Festival will look a bit different with precautions in the wake of COVID-19, with virtual events and limited 'In-Real-Life' events such as this one.