Artistic overload
IT’S THAT time of year again – when artistic types from all over the country fill their cars to bursting with props, costumes, instruments and sleeping bags and make the great trek to Grahamstown.
The National Arts Festival (NAF), which kicked off yesterday, runs until July 12, and boasts an impressive programme of dance, music, jazz, theatre, visual art, film and public performance. From seasoned professionals to young artists just finding their feet in the spotlight, the festival is an extensive showcase of the talent South Africa is producing and fostering.
More than simply 10 days of artistic overload, the event, which marks 41 years this month, is vital to the life of our nation. The arts play a significant role in celebrating and staying connected to the heart of South Africa. Art is vital for shaping the future, marking the past, and building a richer society.
In addition to offering unadulterated entertainment, this year’s programme again features a wide variety of works that interrogate the challenges we still face as a nation. From the voice and role of women in society, to freedom of expression and human dignity, it is a space for artists to confront the issues they feel strongly about, to dig beneath the surface and to help us find the way forward.
While performers run through their lines one final time and musicians tune their instruments, arts enthusiasts from around the country and abroad are clutching thick festival guides, planning how to fit in all of their favourites, and perhaps a few extras. That’s another important facet of the NAF – it exposes audiences and artists alike to so much more than they would usually find in their neighbourhood theatres. It broadens horizons and inspires.
The NAF also serves as a testing ground. Many shows are staged, re-worked, tweaked, polished and eventually make their way back home for local runs, having been given the edge that festival feedback provides.
We wish all performers well over the festival. May the applause be deafening, the ovations spontaneous and numerous, and may you return rejuvenated and inspired.