The Standard Bank Jazz Festival, Grahamstown 2013 incorporates a variety of disciplines into its programme. Blues/Funk/World Music is one of the genres that will be highlighted at the festival this year, though it is just one part of the formidable line-up which includes Mainstream, Afro-Jazz, Modern Jazz, Youth and the Standard Bank Jazz and Blues Café. Vocalist/guitarist Vusi Mahlasela has been affectionately dubbed "The Voice" of South Africa in tribute to his passionately soaring … [Read more...] about African influence dominates Grahamstown Festival offering
nationalarts2013
Festival nurtures Eastern Cape talent
Arts Festival’s fringe programme are being engaged as mentors to assist Eastern Cape companies that will be at the Festival this year. Director Tara Louise Notcutt and 2012 Standard Bank Young Artist for Theatre, Princess Mhlongo are the first two Creative Consultants who will spend a weeklong residency at the Port Elizabeth Opera House. Four additional directors will be announced next month. The Creative Consultancy Project is a partnership between the National Arts Festival and the Port … [Read more...] about Festival nurtures Eastern Cape talent
International guest stars headline Mainstream Jazz at Fest
The Standard Bank Jazz Festival, Grahamstown 2013 incorporates a variety of disciplines into their programme. Mainstream is one of the genres that will be highlighted at the festival this year, though it is just one part of the formidable line-up which includes Blues / Funk / World Music, Afro-Jazz, Modern Jazz and Youth. Trombonist Steve Turre of the Juilliard School of Music, New York, has played and recorded with many artists around the world. These include Dexter Gordon, McCoy Tyner, … [Read more...] about International guest stars headline Mainstream Jazz at Fest
Big Names and Big Bands for Grahamstown Jazz Fest
The Standard Bank Jazz Festival, Grahamstown 2013 incorporates a variety of disciplines into their programme. The Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festivaltakes place alongside a diverse programme that features Mainstream, Blues / Funk / World Music, Afro-Jazz, Modern Jazz and Youth. Mainstream performances are headlined by special guest from the Juilliard School of Music in New York, renowned trombonist and shells specialist Steve Turre. He adds zest to the Awesome Big Band, and his solo … [Read more...] about Big Names and Big Bands for Grahamstown Jazz Fest
‘But is it art?’ at the National Arts Festival
Boundaries of both audiences and performers are extended with the Performance Art offering from the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown. In a performance cycle entitled Anthea Moys vs. The City of Grahamstown, the (first ever) Standard Bank Young Artist for Performance Art, Anthea Moys, will compete against the people of Grahamstown in a tournament of skill, strength, and artistry. Over a series of seven contests over seven days, outnumbered and outclassed, Moys will single-handedly do battle … [Read more...] about ‘But is it art?’ at the National Arts Festival
Diverse dance at the National Arts Festival
Geographical and cultural roots explored in the National Arts Festival Grahamstown’s 2013 Dance offering. Choreographer, teacher and dancer, Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance Fana Tshabalala’s engagement with cleansing ceremonies led him to explore the possibilities in which rites of passage can create new beginnings and purify minds and bodies from the negativities that haunt us. His new work titled Indumba – a hut used as a place for cleansing rituals in most African countries – aims to … [Read more...] about Diverse dance at the National Arts Festival
New artists announced for 55th La Biennale di Venezia
The Department of Arts and Culture and the National Arts Festival recently announced the initial line-up of artists for La Biennale di Venezia which opens at the end of May in Venice. There have been some additional artists that have been added to the impressive original list that will now form part of the 2013 South African Pavilion at the 55th La Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition is entitled Imaginary Fact – Contemporary South African Art and the Archive. Gerhard Marx, Maja Marx and … [Read more...] about New artists announced for 55th La Biennale di Venezia
Bravery on the boards at 2013 National Arts Festival
Deepest desires and darkest fears explored in the 2013 National Arts Festival Grahamstown theatre programme. Asinamali marks the debut of the Soweto Theatre as an Associate Producer with the Market Theatre and the National Arts Festival on the Festival’s Main stage. Originally created in March 1985,Asinamali has travelled widely internationally and is one of the most important plays from apartheid South Africa. This revival of the production is directed by the 2013 Standard Bank Young Artist, … [Read more...] about Bravery on the boards at 2013 National Arts Festival
Gearing up for Grahamstown Festival?
On the eve of the National Arts Festival’s 40th anniversary, the Festival programme continues to push boundaries, and presents a thought-provoking line-up in Grahamstown, from the 27 June to 7 July 2013. As always, the backbone of the main programme is comprised of the work of the Standard Bank Young Artists. The first ever Young Artist for Performance Art, Anthea Moys, presents a series of contests entitled Anthea Moys vs the City of Grahamstown. Young Artist for Dance Fana Tshabalala’s … [Read more...] about Gearing up for Grahamstown Festival?
Festival Favourites succeed beyond Grahamstown
The National Arts Festival, Grahamstown is proud of the previous Young Artists and Festival productions that are doing exceptionally well, locally and internationally. The Baxter Theatre Centre’s hard-hitting adaptation of Strindberg’s classic, Mies Julie, written and directed by 2002 Standard Bank Young Artist award-winner Yael Farber, has received unprecedented acclaim both locally and internationally. Starring Thoko Ntshinga as Christine, Bongile Mantsai as John and Hilda Cronje as Julie; … [Read more...] about Festival Favourites succeed beyond Grahamstown
Arts Partnership to benefit Opera House
Skills transfer and capacity building of Eastern Cape artists is at the heart of a new partnership between the National Arts Festival, the Eastern Cape Provincial Arts & Culture Council (ECPACC) and the Port Elizabeth Opera House. The Port Elizabeth Opera House is one of the oldest theatre buildings in South Africa. The partnership will focus on highlighting this historical site to visiting producers and presenters who visit the National Arts Festival with a view towards increasing the … [Read more...] about Arts Partnership to benefit Opera House
Local Artists to benefit from NAF and MBDA Partnership
A new partnership between the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown and the Mandela Bay Development Agency brings benefits to artists from Port Elizabeth and surrounds. Artists from Port Elizabeth and its surrounding areas are set to walk under a bigger spotlight at this year’s National Arts Festival, the result of an exciting partnership that has been brokered between the Festival and the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA), an entity of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (NMBM). … [Read more...] about Local Artists to benefit from NAF and MBDA Partnership
