Residencies, schools programme in face-to-face National Arts Festival
Life in Makhanda will be almost back to normal when the National Arts Festival resumes its live format from 23 June to 3 July.
“We’ve catered for everyone, and included some surprises and provocations too,” said Artistic Director Rucera Seethal. ”Dance, theatre, visual arts, music, film, illusion and edgy, new cross-genre and interactive arts experiences will form part of the programme.
The Festival will also host a residency programme that brings artists to Makhanda ahead of the event to work on collaborative projects and engage with the local scene. A robust and engaging Schools Festival will reignite the Festival’s long-time role as a winter holiday destination for young people and the ever-popular free Sundowner Concert will be staged daily at the Monument. The Village Green will be back in action with food trucks, craft vendors and a festive outdoor seating area for warming up winter bodies in the sunshine between shows.
Despite the lockdown years, Makhanda’s restaurant scene is still robust and growing – and The Long Table will be back.
The much anticipated works of the 2021 Standard Bank Young Artists, Buhlebezwe Siwani (Visual Art), Thando Doni (Theatre), Cara Stacey (Music), Vuma Levin (Jazz), Gavin Krastin (Performance Art) and Kristi-Leigh Gresse (Dance) will bring fresh perspectives from some of the country’s most innovative creatives.
2021 Standard Bank Young Artist for Theatre, Thando Doni’s new work, Ngqawuse, questions the decisions of our past and how those decisions affect us today. The play is influenced by the story of Xhosa prophet, Nongqawuse, whose visions spurred the cattle killings of 1856/7 and resultant famine. Borrowing aesthetics from African ritual, music, song and dance, Ngqawuse’s story is one of love and sacrifice, doom and misery and asks questions of what we are left with, what to do with the untreated wounds of our history.
Gavin Krastin (2021 Standard Bank Young Artist for Performance Art), a resident of Makhanda, is known for creating collaborative opportunities for artists. He will stage 12 Labours, a reimagining of the Twelve Labours of Hercules, in which the conventional masculinities and heroism of old are localised and adapted into twelve acts focused on repairing and maintaining the infrastructure in Makhanda – acts of service as performance art.
With a title inspired by a phrase from the 1992 Brenda Fassie song iStraight Le Ndaba, Koleka Putuma’s poetry collection Hullo, Bu-bye, Koko, Come In has been adapted into a stage play of the same title in a multimedia exploration of poetry, sound, and projection mapping. The piece considers archives, names, lives and legacies of in/visibility, memory, and black women in performance. Created and performed by Koleka Putuma, the work will also feature visual design by Inka Kendzia and composition and sound design by Mr Sakitumi.
Sello Maake kaNcube makes a welcome return to the Festival, directing Bloke & His American Bantu. Written by the well known author and academic, Siphiwo Mahala, it’s a two-man play that reimagines the camaraderie between prominent intellectuals, Bloke Modisane and Langston Hughes, writers and activists from Sophiatown and Harlem (New York) respectively. Performed by the talented duo, Anele Nene (Bloke) and Josias Dos Moleele (Langston), the play shines the spotlight on the role of artists and intellectuals in forging international solidarity during one of the darkest hours in the history of South Africa. The Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra will present Homeland, bringing together the talents of Tim Moloi, Gloria Bosman and Monde Msutwana to pay tribute to some of the greatest songs and song-writers from South Africa. Famous songs by Vusi Mahlasela, Alan Silinga, Johnny Clegg, Miriam Makeba, Brenda Fassie and Mafikizolo, are given a new life by the Orchestra and soloists, who will have you on your feet, dancing and singing along, as we move through the years re-visiting these great moments from our musical history.
Dance piece Mnquma, performed by Xolisile Bongwana, with additional choreography from David April, traces the quest of a man reconnecting to his roots and reclaiming the legacy of his ancestors. Mnquma is strongly associated with original music compositions by Bongwana, Elvis Sibeko and No-Finish, a traditional Xhosa musician who achieved much recognition throughout her lifetime and is regarded as the master of ‘uhadi’ music.Wezile Harmans’ performance, ‘We Regret to Inform You’, explores the notion of a ‘daily hustle’ against the backdrop of South Africa’s increasing unemployment rate. Seen through the stages of our personal vulnerability as individuals living without work, looking for work, getting work, fighting to keep work and losing the position that was supposed to give us stability in the face of disorienting bureaucracies.
Families can expect experiences suitable for children too, including Cirque du Soleil alumnus Daniel Buckland’s, Urban Circus – a love letter to the thrilling acrobatics of big city life. A talented troupe of Johannesburg’s hottest circus artists will take the audience on a wheel-spinning, nail-biting, day-dreaming escapade through the city. Urban Circus shows the City’s inhabitants as they try to strive, survive and thrive in a delicate and dextrous dance through the intoxicating frenzy of urban life.
Little ones will be spellbound once again by the hugely popular free Children’s Concert, in which children are taught the names, sounds and roles of instruments in a fun, interactive way.
The Festival will also present a programme of comedy and music as well as a professional programme for artists to reconnect and engage on a number of topics. International producers have been invited to the Festival and will be scouting for work to present on stages and at festivals abroad. More details of these, and other events and shows at the 2022 National Arts Festival will be released soon, with the full programme being revealed on 3 May 2022.
Visitors are advised to go to Makana Tourism, various booking agents and online aggregators to book their accommodation soonest. Festival-goers also have the opportunity of adding on some time exploring the Eastern Cape. For more details on where to stay and what to do in the province go to https://visiteasterncape.co.zaThe full programme and ticket sales will be available online at www.nationalartsfestival.co.za from 3 May 2022.
Call Goes Out to Fringe Artists as National Arts Festival Returns to Live Stages this Winter
After two years of hosting the National Arts Festival online, the organisation has announced that it’s returning to live format for 2022. This year’s National Arts Festival is happening in its home town of Makhanda in the Eastern Cape from 23 June-3 July and a call has gone out to artists to register their works on the Fringe.
The Fringe is that part of the Festival programme that is not curated by the Festival’s artistic committee. It is open to all artists from anywhere in the world who want to bring a show or piece of work to perform or exhibit at the Festival. This is done at their own cost but ticket revenue is also largely their own (90/10 in favour of the artists).
The Festival is also hosting an online programme so will welcome applications to present works made for the online environment.
Says Fringe Manager, Zikhona Monaheng, ‘As artists are slowly recovering from two devastating years of the pandemic, we would like to offer a 50% reduction of the normal R1000 registration fee which this year will be R500. In addition, the venue fees have been reduced to accommodate artists’ tighter budgets. Online productions will pay a flat R150 registration fee.’
The Festival will once again present a curated programme featuring highlights that include the original new works of the 2021 Standard Bank Young Artists, theatre, dance and music elements, comedy, visual art, illusion, artists in residence, workshops and experiences such as the Village Green and free Sundowner Concerts. Artists will also gain from several professional workshops and network opportunities at the Festival.
The Fringe programme plays an important role in launching artists and their works into the spotlight. It is here that countless South African artists have tested their range, experimented with form and debuted new work. A free space to express, play and create, it’s an essential element of the Festival’s character.
Says Monaheng, ‘Aside from the importance of coming together again to collaborate, network and talk late into the night, this year’s Festival is an essential component in the reboot of the live arts ecosystem and we hope it will offer some healing and hope after this very hard time we’ve all had. We are looking forward to being together in Makhanda.’
The closing date for application for the Fringe programme is 18 March 2022.
Acapella streetcorner ecorded at the National Arts Festival 2021. The Festival wikll feature live performances again for the first time since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Photo: Mark Wessels
Mommy Mommy by Thami Majela and Tebogo Gxubane is one of the shows on the Fringe Live. Photo: Mark Wessels,
You can still watch performances, even though the 2021 Festival has officially closed.
Fringe artists benefit if you leave a message for them on Standard Bank’s Bank of Dreams portal.
The almost-all-online 47th edition of the National Arts Festival provided a platform for artists to earn some income – although online fatigue and the violent events following the former president’s jailing for contempt of court meant smaller audiences.
The 2021 edition of the Festival was meant to be a hybrid event – some live performances in Makhanda for smaller audiences, alongside an expanded online offering. Leading up to it, was a series of live performances under the Standard Bank Presents banner, in Cape Town, Durban and Joburg (the last was moved online as Joburg quickly turned into the epicenter of the Covid third wave).
Lockdown Level 4 meant locals could see the Nature is Louder street art project happening live, but everything else happened on screen – a switch the Festival achieved in less than two weeks.
“One of our clearest intentions for this Festival was to provide a space that would see artists and technicians working again,” said Festival CEO Monica Newton. “We are keenly aware of the severe impact of Covid-19 on artists’ livelihoods, and we also know that they need to be seen and heard by audiences and their fellow artists from whom they have been cut off for so long.”
The Eastern Cape Cape’s Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts & Culture created opportunities for Eastern Cape artists through the Eastern Cape Showcase, in the curated and jazz programmes and at home, where physical pop-up shops were arranged in Gqeberha for crafters.
“We were determined during these challenging times to ensure that our artists had an opportunity to transition from relief to recovery within their own creative spaces,” said MEC for Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Fezeka Nkomonye.”
The Festival attracted a supportive and enthusiastic community of online fans, but the number of visitors to the website was lower than in 2020. Newton said it was a tough year to hold the attention of audiences.
“Online fatigue has really set in for many people and the unrest in South Africa happened right in the middle of the Festival so many people’s attention was rightfully on the situation that we found ourselves in as a country.”
The Festival once again attracted an overseas audience, particularly from the United States, Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Indonesia, Canada, India and Nigeria.
“We are hoping to return to live events and experiences as soon as possible, but there are some interesting possibilities for the arts online and we want to incorporate them into future festivals,” Newton said.
Audiences around the world interested in the arts in Africa, expats, and locals who choose online over live for various reasons are among those in a growing online audience.
Will the 48th National Arts Festival will be live in Makhanda? Newton says 2021 showed the Festival needs a plan B, C and D,
“We have our sights set on a live Festival in 2022, but we know we can offer our programme online if we need to,” she said.
The Fringe is still online
Even though the Festival period has ended, the Fringe Live remains online for visitors to explore. Look out for all the Standard Bank Ovation Award winners (Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards).
Support the Festival’s Fringe Artists for free
Long-time National Arts Festival partner, Standard Bank, has designed a creative and simple way for arts-lovers to support the artists who brought work, at their own expense, to the 2021 National Arts Festival Fringe.
Click on Standard Bank’s Bank of Dreams https://arts.standardbank.co.za and leave a message for the artists. Standard Bank will convert these messages into cash that will be shared with all the Fringe works ‘staged’ during the Festival period up until 31 July 2021. In other words, you don’t have to pay anything – Standard Bank will. The goal is to raise R 500 000 by the end of August 2021.
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