National Arts Festival invites artists to apply for its 50th curated programme

Jazzart celebrated 50 years at the 2023 National Arts Festival. Picture: Supplied

Jazzart celebrated 50 years at the 2023 National Arts Festival. Picture: Supplied

Published Aug 15, 2023

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Just a few months on from the close of the 2023 edition of The National Arts Festival, the festival has called for artists to apply for the 2024 National Arts Festival.

This call is specifically for works for the Curated Programme, a multi-disciplinary programme that will be selected by the Festival’s Artistic Committee together with the Festival’s Artistic Director.

Artistic Director, Rucera Seethal, explained, “The texture and content of the Festival always lives within any particular year's programme, shaped around the works that are being made, and it is so for 2024.

“However, we broaden the lens for our 50th year to include works that speak across time, whether that be work that marks important milestones in South African cultural history, or works that speak to where we are going and what that future could look like.

“We are looking to time travel in 2024 and we would welcome a diversity of views on this through the perspectives of artists and creatives.”

The call is open to artists from across South Africa, Africa and the world. The next edition of the festival, which will be the 50th instalment, will be taking place from June 20 to 30 next year in Makhanda, Eastern Cape.

There is a separate call for the 2024 Fringe Programme, which is an open platform for producers from anywhere in the world to present work on an independent, self-funded basis.

The Fringe is not curated, but will be designed to match available venues in Makhanda. The call for the Fringe will open on October 2, 2023.

The Curated Programme application process is entirely online and closes on September 30, 2023 at midnight CAT.