John hand carves his wood blocks and makes the prints in his own backyard studio.  John’s winning print depicts a range of boldly coloured characters of all ages and genders, each with their own story. The artwork speaks well to Adelaide Fringe’s vision to become the most inclusive festival in the world.  

“It’s a real honour to be selected as the Adelaide Fringe 2025 poster winner. I love Fringe festivals and how inclusive they are for all artists. For me, there’s  a connection  with these characters and the Fringe poster competition brief of ‘One for All and All For One’ and the print reflects the many arts disciplines that visitors will experience at Australia’s biggest arts festival,” said Pedder.

As the winner of the 2025 Poster Competition, John will receive $10,000 in prize money, thanks to Community Partner Lumo Energy,  free registration to hold an exhibition during the 2025 Adelaide Fringe, along with the invaluable exposure as his artwork takes over the visible landscape of Adelaide and South Australia across February and March. This year marks the highest prize money ever offered for the poster competition.

Lumo Energy’s General Manager, David Holman  said, “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Adelaide Fringe by supporting the 2025 Poster Competition. John Pedder’s artwork is an extraordinary representation of the creativity and diversity that Adelaide Fringe embodies. The poster plays such an integral role in setting the tone for the festival, and we are proud to provide the prize money to recognise and celebrate this unique talent. We look forward to seeing John’s work across the city as we count down to Fringe 2025.”

To further celebrate his win, John has created a limited edition of the woodblock print, ‘Are We Nearly There Yet’, and these signed original prints are available for sale. You can buy your own original print now and John will generously donate proceeds from the sale to Arts Unlimited, the philanthropic arm of Adelaide Fringe, which supports artists, venues and disadvantaged community groups to participate in and experience Adelaide Fringe.

Adelaide Fringe Director and CEO Heather Croall said, “Congratulations to John Pedder on winning the poster design for Fringe 2025. We received a huge number of submissions from all over the world this year, and John’s design stood out as one that really captured the spirit of Fringe and one that would work well across the many platforms used to promote Fringe. The characters are super playful and it is especially exciting to have a hand-carved woodblock print as an Adelaide Fringe poster for the first time. We can’t wait to see this artwork take over the streets of Adelaide and South Australia to celebrate the upcoming season of Fringe.”

Previous poster winners include Queensland’s Rebecca Davis and Alana Naylor, South Australia’s Mali Isobel and Dave Court, along with historic winners Pro Hart, Bronwyn Platten, Michael Atchison and Driller Jet Armstrong. 

Fringe lovers can keep an eye out for John Pedder’s exhibition in Adelaide Fringe 2025, which will include various woodblock prints from his striking collection. His pared-down artworks capture stories of the human experience, often with a humorous twist. You can see more of John’s artworks on his instagram: @johnapedder.

A number of shows are already on sale ahead of the full program launch on Friday 6 December. Crowd favourites ‘LIMBO - The Return’,  ‘27 Club’ and ‘Infamous’ will be back for the 2025 festival, as will the highly anticipated interactive experience, ‘Sleeps Hill Tunnel’, after a sold out season in 2024. Audiences are encouraged to secure their tickets now for these popular performances as the excitement for Adelaide Fringe 2025 continues to build.