The post-Festival blues are still with me. This year’s National Arts Festival was one for the books, and a gorgeous reminder of the enduring ability of the arts to tell stories, to heal, to highlight and hold. This was my 10th year covering the Festival.
Now in its 36th year, the National Jazz Festival Makhanda forms part of the annual National Arts Festival, with a programme that has become a barometer of South African jazz. It’s also a gathering place for artists, many of whom take a break from their
In many ways, the Fringe programme is the beating heart of the National Arts Festival (NAF). It’s where works are debuted, ideas are tested, reviews are garnered, and awards are won. It’s where some of South Africa’s best-known theatre-makers have started out, and where they
So, you’re making the trip down to Makhanda for the National Arts Festival. You’re ready to brave the cold, the potholes and the donkeys for the unique experience of stepping into a university theatre or an otherwise ordinary venue in an otherwise ordinary town, that’s
With the 2023 National Arts Festival kicking off in less than a month, you should have already started browsing through the extensive offering of theatre, visual art, dance, jazz, performance art, live music and more. But if it’s all a bit overwhelming, allow the below
It’s that time of the year again! The National Arts Festival (NAF) has announced its 2023 programme, which is now live and open for online bookings. Makhanda’s annual celebration of the arts will be taking place from 22 June to 2 July 2023 where artists,
It’ll be the ultimate celebratory homecoming for audiences and the arts community as the National Arts Festival gears up to resume its live format with an immersive in-person arts experience from 23 June to 3 July in Makhanda. The Festival will re-emerge with a carefully
UPDATE: The National Arts Festival is back to 100% capacity thanks to the removal of Covid-19 restrictions. More tickets are therefore on sale for the big shows you’ve been asking for. Later this month, the 2022 National Arts Festival (NAF) will once again open itself
UPDATE: The National Arts Festival is back to 100% capacity thanks to the removal of Covid-19 restrictions. More tickets are therefore on sale for the big shows you’ve been asking for. The National Arts Festival (NAF) is officially back in Makhanda after two years of
Stories of turbulence, healing and triumph thread through this year’s programme as the National Arts Festival returns to Makhanda in a live festival format from 23 June – 3 July 2022. ‘There’s a pull towards stories from history, and explorations of other ways of seeing
UPDATE: The National Arts Festival is back to 100% capacity thanks to the removal of Covid-19 restrictions. More tickets are therefore on sale for the big shows you’ve been asking for. We’re still afraid we might jinx it by saying it out loud, but the
After two years of hosting the National Arts Festival online, the organisation has announced that it is returning to a 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 –
What will the National Arts Festival be like in 2030? Future Festivals South Africa is currently working with the National Arts Festival as a research partner to speculate on the future of festivals in South Africa. Led by artists blk banaana (Duduetsang Lamola) and Francois
Creative Feel has covered this year’s National Arts Festival from its start as a hybrid live and virtual festival to its now fully online 2021 experience. We’re viewing some brilliant pieces, and poring through the line-up of theatre, dance, visual arts, talks, webinars and more.
With the 2021 National Arts Festival in full-swing, offering an array of theatre, dance, visual arts, talks, webinars and more, Creative Feel took some time to chat to CEO Monica Newton about their plans for this year’s iteration including their amazing turn-around time, changing the
With the 2021 National Arts Festival in full-swing, offering an array of theatre, dance, visual arts, talks, webinars and more, there’s also the much-anticipated Standard Bank Jazz Festival to look forward to. This year’s Jazz Fest line-up is a formidable one, with some of the
The Creative Feel team will once again be attending and covering the annual National Arts Festival, taking place for the second time in a virtual format with a programme that’s filled to the brim with theatre, visual art, workshops, dance, comedy, and more. If you’re
The National Arts Festival goes fully online for a second time this 8 – 31 July. The National Arts Festival’s hopes of having a live audience element at the 2021 Makhanda experience were dashed by the Level 4 Lockdown measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa
UPDATE: Following the recent presidential announcement that South Africa has been placed under Level 4 Lockdown restrictions, the Makhanda live iteration of the 2021 National Arts Festival (NAF) will no longer be taking place from 8 – 18 July. This follows the cancellation of the Gauteng
South African multimedia artist, gender advocate and now 2019’s Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for Visual Art, Gabrielle Goliath, brings her new work, This song is for… to Johannesburg. Following its successful run at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda, the work moves to
Multiple award-winning Magnet Theatre presents G7: Okwe-Bokhwe directed by Mandla Mbothwe and starring the talented graduates of the fifth Magnet Theatre training programme. G7: Okwe-Bokhwe (like/of a goat) will be performed at the P4 Studio at Hiddingh Hall campus from 12 to 22 June, followed
Since its inception almost four decades ago, one national award has come to be regarded as the ultimate accolade for young South African arts innovators on the cusp of greatness. The latest list of winners of the Standard Bank Young Artist Awards for 2019 proves
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. Earlier this year, I enjoyed the strange experience of watching a live theatrical performance play out from multiple angles and perspectives just a metre or two away from
Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) has announced who will succeed current CEO Michelle Constant when she steps down end February 2019. Says Charmaine Soobramoney, BASA Chairperson: “When Michelle announced her decision to pursue other interests after a decade of achievement with BASA, the board
Mandla Mlangeni, Kitty Phetla, Megan-Geoffrey Prins, Amy Jephta and Gabrielle Goliath to join the honour roll of alumni at NAF in 2019. Since its inception almost four decades ago, one national award has come to be regarded as the ultimate accolade for young South African
After acclaimed performances at the National Arts Festival, Vrystaat Arts Festival and the South African Book Fair, the Kwasha! Theatre Company continues its successful tour of Saint Exupéry’s beloved tale, The Little Prince around South Africa. The show has already been seen by more than