National Arts Festival


The National Arts Festival is an annual festival of performing arts in Makhanda, South Africa. It is the largest arts festival on the African continent and one of the largest performing arts festivals in the world by visitor numbers.
The festival runs for 11 days, from the last week of June to the first week of July every year. It takes place in the small university city of Makhanda, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.
The NAF comprises a Main programme and a Fringe festival, both administered by the National Arts Festival Office, a non-profit Section 21 Company. The Festival programme includes performing arts, visual art exhibitions, films, talks and workshops, a large food and craft fair and historical tours of the city. The NAF runs a children's arts festival over the same period and a number of other festivals take place in Makhanda over the period of the NAF, such as the National Youth Jazz Festival.
Performances take place across the city in approximately 60 venues as well as in various outdoor locations for the street performances.
The Festival attracts significant numbers of local and international visitors and is one of the biggest contributors to the economy of the region.

History

Makhanda has been associated with carnivals and festivals for more than 180 years as British immigrants established the tradition of celebrating landmark anniversaries on a grand scale. When a movement gained ground last century to erect a memorial to these pioneers it was agreed that it should be a "living" monument presenting festivals, conferences and other gatherings.
An Inaugural Festival was held in 1974 when the 1820 Settlers National Monument was officially opened, with the exception of 1975, a festival has been organised every year since then.

The main programme

A committee of curators in the various disciplines selects the content of the main programme. The planning process takes into account what is available locally and from outside South Africa. Three considerations that influence decisions are the artistic merits of any submission, the creation of a varied and balanced programme, and the costs involved. The Committee strives for excellence in all aspects of the programme, an approach that has assisted in bringing in sponsorship money for world class shows from a number of foreign governments and large multinational corporations.

The fringe

Today, the Fringe is on an equal footing with the Main Festival. Seasoned performers and famous directors can just as easily be found on either programme, and a slot on the main programme one year does not preclude a return to the Fringe the next. The distinguishing feature of the Fringe is that it is open to all and exempt from the selection process that applies to the main programme. Fringe participants are responsible for their own costs and 85% of their box office sales accrue to them directly. They are liable for certain payments for venue hire and registration fees.

Subsidiary festivals

A number of subsidiary festivals take place as part of the National Arts Festival:
The Young Artist Awards, sponsored by Standard Bank, are presented by the National Arts Festival Artistic Committee to emerging, relatively young South African artists who have demonstrated exceptional ability in their chosen fields but who have not yet achieved national exposure and acclaim.
Festival Committee members, fellow artists and interested members of the public, nominate artists. The NAF Committee, a group of experts in the various arts disciplines, decides on the final recipients.
Designed to encourage the recipients in the pursuit of their careers, a key aspect of the awards is that they guarantee the artists a place on the main programme of the forthcoming National Arts Festival. Apart from a cash prize, each of the winners receive substantial financial backing for their Festival participation whether this involves the mounting of an exhibition or the staging of a production.
A maximum of five awards are made annually in any one of the disciplines of drama, music, jazz, visual art, dance and film. Since the inception of the awards in 1981 more than 150 awards have been presented plus five special awards to artists in recognition of their contribution to the National Arts Festival and the arts of South Africa. A complete list of previous winners is as follows:
YearMusicDramaDanceJazzVisual ArtOther
2020Nthato MokgataJefferson TshabalalaLulu Prudence MlangeniSisonke XontiBlessing Ngobeni–
2019Megan-Geoffrey PrinsAmy JephtaKitty PhetlaMandla MlangeniGabrielle Goliath–
2018Guy ButteryJemma KahnMusa HlatshwayoThandi NtuliIgshaan AdamsChuma Sopotela
2017Abel SelaocoeMonageng 'Vice' MotshabiThandazile RadebeBenjamin JephtaBeth ArmstrongDineo Bopape
2016Avigail BushakevitzJade BowersThemba MbuliSiya MakuzeniMohau Modisakeng–
2015Musa NgqunqwanaChristiaan OlwagenLuyanda SibiyaNduduzo MakhathiniKemang Wa LehureleAthi Patra Ruga
2014Njabulo MadlalaGreg HomannNicola ElliottKyle ShepherdHasan & Husain EssopJahmil XT Qubeka

Donna Kukama
2013Runette BothaPrince LamlaFana TshabalalaShane CooperMary SibandeAnthea Moys
2012Kelebogile BoikanyoPrincess MhlongoBailey SnymanAfrika MkhizeMikhael Subotzky–
2011Ben SchoemanNeil CoppenMamela NyamzaBokani DyerNandipha Mntambo–
2010Samson DiamondJanni YoungeMlu ZondiMelanie ScholtzMichael MacGarryClaire Angelique
2009Jacques ImbrailoNtshieng MokgoroThabo RapooKesivan NaidooNicholas Hlobo–
2008Zanne StapelbergJaco BouwerDada MasiloMark FransmanNontsikelelo Veleko–
2007Bronwen Forbay–Acty TangShannon MowdayPieter HugoAkin Omotoso
2006–Sylvaine StrikeHlengiwe LushabaConcord NkabindeChurchill Madikida–
2005Andile YenanaMpumelelo Paul GrootboomPeter John Sabbagha–Wim BothaRamolao Makhene
2004Tutu PuoaneMncedisi Baldwin ShabanguPortia Lebogang Mashigo–Kathryn SmithMoses Taiwa Molelekwa
2003Angela GilbertYael FarberMoya Michael–Berni SearleDumisani Phakhati
2002Prince KupiSello Maake Ka-NcubeGregory Vuyani Maqoma–Brett Murray–
2001Fikile MvinjelwaBrett BaileyTracey Human–Walter Oltmann–
2000Gloria BosmanZenzi Mbuli––Alan Alborough–
1999––––––
1998Bongani Ndodana-BreenAubrey SekhabiDavid Mudanalo Matamela and Debbie Rakusin–Nhlanhla Xaba–
1997Sibongile Mngoma Geoffrey Hyland––Lien BothaAlfred Hinkel
1996Victor MasondoLara Foot NewtonVincent Mantsoe–Trevor Makhoba–
1995Abel MotsoadiJohn LedwabaBoyzie Cekwana–Jane Alexander–
1994Michael Williams Jerry Mofokeng––Sam Nhlengethwa–
1993Sibongile Khumalo–Christopher Kindo–Pippa Skotnes–
1992Raphael VilakaziDeon Opperman––Tommy MotswaiKevin Harris
1991–Peter Ngwenya––Andries BothaDarrell Roodt
1990––Robyn Orlin–Fée Halsted-Berning and Bonnie Ntshalintshali–
1989Johnny CleggMarthinus BassonGary Gordon–Helen SebidiPieter-Dirk Uys
1988–Mbongeni Ngema––Margaret Vorster–
1987Hans Roosenschoon–––William Kentridge–
1986–Andrew Buckland––Gavin Younge–
1985Sidwill HartmanMaishe Maponya––Marion Arnold–
1984–Ken Leach––Peter SchützLamar Crowson
1983David KosvinerPaul Slabolepszy––Malcolm Payne–
1982–Janice HoneymanLindy Raizenberg –Neil Rodger–
1981John TheodoreRichard E Grant––Jules van de Vijver–

Fringe awards

In 2010, the National Arts Festival launched a new set of awards for Fringe productions – the Standard Bank Ovation Awards. These awards recognise excellence on the Fringe, and aim to seek out those productions that are innovative, original and creatively outstanding. At the end of the Festival, Gold and Silver awards are selected from the list of winners, rewarding the best productions in the categories theatre, dance, comedy, music.
Recipients of the Standard Bank Ovation Awards benefit from the recognition provided by the acknowledgement, with companies or artists often being offered extended tours, international opportunities to perform, increased opportunities for funding, and an invitation to submit a proposal for the following year's Arena programme. Artists who win Gold and Silver awards receive modest monetary incentives.

Featured Artists

Since the Featured Artist Programme was launched in 2012, the National Arts Festival has celebrated and showcased established artists who have built up a substantial body of work that has contributed to South Africa’s national discourse on race, class or gender in a significant way.
Recipients of this award are:
The NAF has grown since its inception. In 1974 there were 64 events on the main programme. The Fringe started in 1979 with 10 events. As of 2010 the National Arts Festival comprises more than 350 events with over 1,200 performances.
The Village Green craft fair was introduced in 1989 with approximately 90 stalls. Now it attracts close to 1,000 stallholders. The fair offers visitors the chance to buy an array of goods, from pure wool sweaters to handcrafted beadwork, and there are stalls offering a various exotic foods. In addition, there are Craft Villages at Fiddlers Green and on Church Square.

Social responsibility

The National Arts Festival claims to be a socially responsible festival, this however, has been contested.
The Hands On! Masks Off! programme focuses on strengthening the entrepreneurial skills of the arts community by bringing together arts entrepreneurs to share skills and knowledge with a new generation of arts managers.
In 2010 the Remix Laboratory saw a 120 community-based artists from around the country participate in a residency programme during the NAF. The scholars attended workshops, seminars, performances and visits to galleries while being mentored in arts practice and arts appreciation.
The Art Factory teaches local marginalised and vulnerable youth performance skills such as juggling and acrobatics and combines this with a strategic focus on building the life skills and confidence of the youth. The Art Factory functions as a year-round project in Makhanda.
As part of the ArtsReach Programme the National Arts Festival takes the arts to hospitals, clinics, old age homes and rural areas. A number of artists on the Fringe volunteer their performances for the ArtsReach programme during the NAF.
The Arts Encounter Project distributes a number of tickets to indigent individuals to enable them to enjoy productions from the NAF's main and fringe programmes.

Publications

The National Arts Festival publishes a printed booking kit or programme every year, which includes artistic and schedule information about the shows as well as tips on how to book tickets, getting to Makhanda and where to stay. A full PDF of the programme is available online via the NAF's website at www.nationalartsfestival.co.za.

Bookings

A computerised booking system was introduced in 1989. In 1997, for the first time in the history of South African theatre, the National Arts Festival introduced internet bookings. The NAF website, which was launched in 1994, acts as an online registration vehicle for artists in the build-up to the Festival, and as a ticket booking hub for the Festival. A free-to-download mobile app has also been developed, which allows visitors to browse shows and book tickets.

Staff

The National Arts Festival has a small permanent staff comprising around 10 full-time staff members. Nobesuthu Rayi is the Executive Producer and Rucera Seethal the Artistic Director.
Former radio presenter and sponsorship manager Tony Lankester served as CEO for over a decade, stepping down in 2019 to take up a position in the UK. During Lankester's tenure, respected arts administrator Ismail Mahomed served as Artistic Director until 2016. Mahomed was responsible for overseeing the curation of the NAF's artistic content. He was replaced by playwright and arts administrator Ashraf Johaardien, who left at the end of 2018.
During the Festival, the staff complement grows to around 400, including technical staff, largely drawn from the local community of MMakhanda.

International partnerships

The National Arts Festival is a member of the World Fringe Alliance, a grouping of 10 Fringe Festivals from different countries. It is also a member of the African Festival Network. CEO Tony Lankester is chairman and Treasurer of the two organisations respectively. The NAF embarks on numerous partnerships with foreign embassies and presenting institutions, staging several high-profile international works each year.