As the National Arts Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, one of the most lauded facets of the Festival was the deep diversity of the Curated Programme and its ongoing ability to reflect the creative zeitgeist of the nation.
The Curated Programme is selected by the Festival’s Artistic Committee, led by the Artistic Director, Rucera Seethal. Curated works are given a budget to be to be created, rehearsed and presented in Makhanda by the Festival and are often co-produced with other partners. The Festival continues to see shows, presented on both the Curated and Fringe programme, selected by other programmers for touring beyond the National Arts Festival.
“One of the core functions of the Festival is to generate new work,” says National Arts Festival’s Artistic Director, Rucera Seethal. “In more constrained financial times, it’s through co-production with partners that we have been able to stimulate new work, new collaborations and new possibilities into life. We are just as excited to bring existing work to new Festival audiences, and welcome proposals across all stages of work readiness.”
Seethal says the call is not prescriptive and the committee prefers to see what emerges from the submissions rather than articulating pre-set themes or ideas. “We aren’t looking for fit but rather for what is in the moment, the mood, the conversation. It is always fascinating to see the patterns and alignments but also some extraordinary juxtapositions.”
The Curated call is open from 5 August to 16 September 2024.
(photo: Mark Wessels)
There will also be a call for the National Arts Festival’s Fringe programme opening on 1 October and closing on 25 November 2024. Artists should take note that the Fringe call will run for a shorter period than in previous years, enabling the Festival to have more time for scheduling the programme, and engaging with presenting artists and companies for a better overall experience and Festival programme.
The Curated call is also running concurrently with nominations for the 2024 Standard Bank Young Artists. This year, the Festival will expand its search for the 2024 Standard Bank Young Artists by creating a small window for nominations from the artistic community. Nominations for artists to be considered for the Standard Bank Young Artist Awards will be accepted until 19 August 2024. These nominations will be included in a pool of candidates for the prestigious Standard Bank Young Artist Award title for the consideration of the Artistic Committee.
(photo: Alet Pretorius)
The National Arts Festival takes place in Makhanda (formerly known as Grahamstown), Eastern Cape every year during winter and is made possible with the support of the Eastern Cape Government, Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, Standard Bank and National Lotteries Commission. The eleven-day event is a diverse performing and visual arts festival with a strong curated programme and an independent, uncurated Fringe. Work on the programme is predominantly South African but also features international and African works. Student work, new voices, emerging collaborations and stages for experimentation – a hallmark of the Festival – coexist in the small-town setting. The Festival is also the stage on which new works by the Standard Bank Young Artists are experienced, going back through a long line of notable South African winners. In 2024, the National Arts Festival marks its 50th anniversary. This year’s Festival ran from 20-30 June.
