Field Notes - Fusebox

Ron Berry’s Fusebox Field Notes

One of my favorite parts of creating a festival is the work that almost no one ever sees. Before a performance reaches the stage, there are years of conversations, travel, studio visits, shared meals, late-night debates, and seeing far more performances than any reasonable person probably should. There are friendships that deepen over decades, ideas that slowly take shape, and countless moments when you stumble across an artist or a project and think, I wish people in Austin could experience this. That work never really stops. It’s ongoing. It’s one of my favorite parts of the job, and I thought it might be fun to invite our supporters along for the journey.

I’ll start by saying that I believe deeply in cultural exchange. As an artist, and as a human, I have learned so much from artists in other parts of the world. The sharing of art and ideas across borders has cracked my world open in so many ways. It has changed my life. This exchange is a big part of our work with Fusebox, and so when I travel, it’s largely in service to this idea. It’s about creating avenues for connection and collaboration between the world and Austin, and vice versa.

While some of the artists and projects I encounter will eventually find their way to Fusebox, many won’t. More than anything, I’m trying to stay connected to artistic currents, and the people behind them.

I’m also interested in the environments where work is being made. Why did this work emerge from this place, at this particular moment? What conversations are artists having with each other, with their communities, and with the world? How are festivals evolving? What are other festivals doing that we could learn from? How do they connect with and celebrate the places they’re rooted in? And, always, what ideas might resonate in Austin?

What follows are a few notes from the road. Some things I saw, conversations I had, and questions I’m still carrying home.

Summer 2026 Part 1: Melbourne

RISING is one of my favorite multidisciplinary festivals. It’s got a heartbeat. It’s playful, irreverent, adventurous, and also full of ideas. If it were a person, it’d be someone you’d want to spend a Saturday night out on the town with.

The festival unfolds across Melbourne, a city I genuinely love. If you haven’t been, it’s well worth the trip. Fantastic food. Incredible coffee. A thriving music scene. A really vibrant dance community. It’s a cool city.

Full disclosure: I’m terrible at sleeping on planes. Absolutely terrible.

By the time I landed in Melbourne I was operating in full zombie mode. Thankfully, my friend Jeff Khan (many of you will remember Jeff from his years guest curating with Fusebox) got me through the first night with the only force powerful enough to overcome 17 hours of jet lag: the promise of a really good dinner.

Summer 2026 Part 2: Manchester

In early July I headed north for the opening of Ai Weiwei: Button Up!, a major new exhibition at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International in Manchester.

The trip was partly personal. One of my dear friends, Kee Hong, has spent the last four years helping bring this ambitious project into the world, and I wanted to celebrate that with him. It also gave me the chance to meet up with my sister Cindy and her husband Alex. I rarely get to share this aspect of my work with family, so this felt really special. We spent a few fun days together roaming the streets of Manchester, taking in the exhibition, drinking some pints, and Alex scored a really rad new jacket. Priorities.