FOR 11 days, Grahamstown will become the cultural center of South Africa when the National Arts Festival draws artists, dancers and musicians from around the world to perform on its stages from 29 June to 9 July. Grahamstown is located in the Eastern Cape, 130km from Port Elizabeth. The National Arts Festival is one of the most important events on the South African cultural calendar, and the biggest annual celebration of the arts on the African continent.
It has become a homecoming journey for many South African artists living and working abroad and this year is no different. The Festival includes a Main and a Fringe programme, which are both administered by the National Arts Festival Office. The programme consist of drama, dance, physical theatre, comedy, opera, music, jazz, visual art exhibitions, film, student theatre, street theatre, lectures, craft fair, workshops, and a children’s arts festival.
The event is open to all regardless of race, colour, sex or belief. As no artistic restraint has ever been imposed on works presented in Grahamstown, the Festival served as an important forum for political and protest theatre during the height of the apartheid era, and it still offers an opportunity for experimentation across the arts spectrum. Its significance as a forum for new ideas and an indicator of future trends in the arts cannot be underestimated.
Sporting events are more than moments of competition, national pride, and entertainment. They are economic activities that can stimulate tourism, create employment, support local businesses, and generate revenue across multiple sectors of the economy.
Umntwana womgquba a term traditionally used in the Nguni language that means “born out of wedlock,” but nowadays it is used to emphasise that one is born kwisintu. As lontwana, I look back on my own adventures: sometimes I pat myself on the back, and sometimes I wish I could redo them.
Each September, South Africa turns its attention to the rich cultural tapestry that defines our nation. Heritage Month is a time to honour the traditions, languages, histories, knowledge systems, customs and creative expressions that have been passed from generation to generation, while recognising that our heritage is not confined to the past.
My first encounter with heritage at the Mandela Bay Development Agency was, appropriately, somewhat uncomfortable. It began with cleaning. The Gale Monument, the Horse Memorial and the Queen Victoria statue became my first practical introduction to the business of preserving history.
