Shared vision in collaboration
CREATING a culture of collaboration requires a shared passion and a shared vision. Over the past 20 years, a partnership between the National Arts Festival and the embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has given audiences in Grahamstown the opportunity to enjoy some of the best art from the Netherlands.
From kicking off its presence with a single exhibition in 1995, the embassy of the Netherlands is now one of the festival’s strongest international supporters. Over the past two decades, more than 150 Dutch artists and 50 Dutch productions have been welcomed on the festival’s stages.
Over the years, the contribution from the embassy has focused on supporting programmes in various genres with a primary aim of trying to promote international collaboration, and newer opportunities for South African and Dutch artists.
Last year as the festival celebrated its 40th edition and the 20th anniversary of South Africa’s constitutional democracy, audiences in Grahamstown were able to reflect on the contributions of Dutch artists in their solidarity against apartheid. The exhibition, Signs of Solidarity, which was created specifically for last year’s festival, continues to tour to institutions in South Africa.
The embassy’s support for jazz programming at the festival is one of its strongest features. This year, the embassy supports the participation of Yuri Honing, one of Holland’s most important saxophone players.
He is hailed as “one of the most creative and fearless saxophonists of the moment” by The Times. His unique personal style, based on jazz, pop and non-Western musical instruments, and his powerful sound, similar to the human voice, amount to a musical revelation.
Fostering a partnership between Pacofs in Bloemfontein, the Orkater Theatre Company in Amsterdam, the Soweto Theatre and the National Arts Festival, the embassy threw its backing behind the production of Masote’s Dream, an inspiring journey about the life of one of South Africa’s most iconic classical musicians, Matlhaela Michael Masote. During the apartheid era Masote founded the first black youth orchestra, now named the Soweto Symphony Orchestra, and which gave birth to one of the most acclaimed South African musical groups, the Soweto String Quartet.
The embassy recognises that building newer audiences is crucial towards promoting a sustainable theatre industry. This year, the embassy threw its support behind Red Earth Revisited, created by the renowned Dutch puppet theatre company, Speeltheater Holland Studio.
Drawing on actors from South Africa and the Netherlands, the production is a vibrant and engaging piece of visual storytelling about the legendary Xhosa story of Nongqawuse, the young girl who predicted that the Xhosa would be rid of their enemies if they killed their cattle and burnt their grain. The production was developed in partnership with Assitej South Africa and Speeltheatre Holland Studio, and was also made possible with generous funding from the Performing Arts Fund NL, Theatre de Krakeling (Amsterdam).
This year the festival boldly features satire on its main programme. The embassy took centre stage at the festival by launching the South African leg of an international cartoon competition headed by the Cartoon Movement.
The competition is aimed at inspiring young cartoonists to create their own cartoons on this year’s theme, “my peace, your peace”, and to join the global debate about peace and justice. The 10 best cartoons will be on display at the Peace Palace in The Hague, in the week of September 21.
The embassy’s support for various productions and development initiatives has always been jointly envisioned and jointly strategised. Each year, the various partnership projects have also been jointly evaluated.
The embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is more than just a sponsor. It is an invested stakeholder that is passionately committed towards helping South African artists create meaning partnerships with their Dutch counterparts.
As South Africa forges for- ward into the 22nd year of constitutional democracy, towards broadening access to the arts and towards the increased internationalisation of South African arts and culture, the National Arts Festival is delighted that it can continue to do so hand in hand with the embassy.