The Mandela Bay Arts Festival is back this summer; live on stages in the Bay stages from 22 February to 2 March 2025. A project of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, the event is managed by the National Arts Festival and gives the vibrant talent of the area a platform to perform and exhibit their works for visitors and residents of the city and surrounds. The artists who will be participating in the Mandela Bay Arts Festival have been announced after being selected from over 216 … [Read more...] about Mandela Bay Arts Festival 2025
arts festival
All roads lead to Grahamstown
The university town of Grahamstown will once again play host to the National Arts Festival. This spectacular is one of the biggest highlights on South Africa's cultural calendar. Over 50 000 people flock to Grahamstown each year for the festival, which is organised by the Grahamstown Foundation. For over a week, revellers are spoilt for choice with a range of productions in arts, music, theatre, dance and crafts. This year, the festival will take place from 30 June to 10 July at various … [Read more...] about All roads lead to Grahamstown
Online booking for Grahamstown National Arts Festival opens 9 May
Arts lovers will be spoilt for choice when tickets for the annual feast of theatre, dance, music, public art - and more - go live for booking at www.nationalartsfestival.co.za. The 2016 National Arts Festival (30 June-10 July) will open bookings on Monday 9 May when the full programme goes live on its website. Hot ticket shows such as the world premiere of Lara Foot’s new play, The Inconvenience of Wings and Janni Younge’s The Firebird are expected to sell out fast. Responding to user … [Read more...] about Online booking for Grahamstown National Arts Festival opens 9 May
Motherwell Developmental Arts Festival
The Motherwell Developmental Arts Festival 2014 will be held on 27 September 2014. The Festival is part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality's programme to support youth participating in creative arts in Motherwell and other parts of the City. Through the Motherwell Urban Renewal and Economic Development directorate the municipality has identified the creative industry as a tool that can provide sustainable jobs and economic opportunities for the youth. The festival will be in three phases … [Read more...] about Motherwell Developmental Arts Festival
2014 Standard Bank Ovation Awards winners
The much anticipated Standard Bank Ovation Awards were announced on the closing day of the 2014 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. Convenor of the Awards Panel, Adrienne Sichel, described the work presented on the Fringe at this year’s Festival as ‘refreshingly diverse’. “I was impressed with the diversity, and aesthetics within the works”, Sichel said, but warned artists to keep their honesty and to beware of self-censorship. “The Standard Bank Ovation Awards provide a valuable … [Read more...] about 2014 Standard Bank Ovation Awards winners
The Purple shall govern
In her new solo exhibition headed for the Grahamstown Arts Festival and titled 'The purple shall govern', Standard Bank Young Artist for Visual Art Mary Sibande draws inspiration from a specific incident in South Africa's history where, in the late 1980s, people were marching for equality in Cape Town. During the march, the police sprayed everyone with a water cannon laced with purple dye to enable them to identify and arrest anti-apartheid protestors. This act motivated Mary's interest in the … [Read more...] about The Purple shall govern
