Virtual National Arts Festival extended until July 16

Tandile Mbatsha. Picture: Supplied

Tandile Mbatsha. Picture: Supplied

Published Jul 7, 2020

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The Virtual National Arts Festival, that would have ended on July 5, has announced that the feast of arts content will be available until July 16. vFringe will also continue until July 31.

Audience who didn't have an opportunity to catch their favourite offerings will still be able to buy tickets and passes for the country's biggest and most diverse shows. 

"The online space definitely has its advantages. Creating a festival in the online space means we have a rich and exciting body of work gathered in one place and we are able to continue sharing that in a way that we would not otherwise be able to with a live festival," said artistic director, Rucera Seethal.  

 

Some of the unmissable shows include the works of the "Standard Bank Young Artists"; Jefferson Tshabalala, Lulu Mlangeni, Sisonke Xonti, Nthato Mokgata and Blessing Ngobeni.

Audiences have also flocked to Swan Song, a collaboration between Buhle Ngaba and Nicola Pilkington, Pest Control by Mamela Nyamza and Standard Bank Jazz Festival performances from acts like Thandiswa Mazwai, Mi Casa and Grammy-award winner Jacob Collier.

 

The vFringe continues to release more work; each show produced by the artists and 90% of the ticket revenue going to artists directly. The Standard Bank Ovation Awards recognise excellence in vFringe shows and will start to be awarded this week, culminating in a live awards ceremony for the overall vFringe Standard Bank Ovation winners on July 31. 

 

Speaking about the Festival to date, National Arts Festival chief executive Monica Newton said the reaction from the public had been extremely positive.

“Since June 25, visitors have joined us from all over Africa and the world, and while the new platform was not without its teething problems, we have already presented hundreds of hours of entertainment to our audience. 

"We are thrilled to see that the vFringe is doing really well, with Fringe artists finding it a great platform to securely stage and market their work. Mounting the Festival with just over 100 days to prepare has been an incredible challenge for the team but we have learnt that there is ongoing value in an online arts platform.

" With the arts community locally and abroad grappling with the devastation of coronavirus pandemic, we do see significant opportunities in the digital space now and in future," said Newton. 

 

Ticket and pass holders can return to the platform at any time until July 16 to watch on demand shows, and audiences can also still buy single tickets and passes for the curated programme up until July 16. vFringe tickets, which are all single purchases, can be bought up until July 31. 

All the Festival content can be found on  National Arts Festival.

Trailers and teasers for works on the Festival can be found on the National Arts Festival  YouTube channel.

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