Nine specially commissioned music works for NAF
The Grahamstown National Arts Festival, taking place 3-13 July, has announced a Main programme which will feature the work of 65 former Standard Bank Young Artist Award winners.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the festival has announced the Main programme will feature artists from 26 countries, over 550 performances in theatre, dance, performance art and music, nine specially commissioned music works, musicians with more than 40 South African Music Awards and three Grammy Awards under their belt, and an ambitious, sprawling 'Creation of a Nation' project across Grahamstown.
"It is a bold programme which veers between the extravagant and the intimate as it attempts to reflect on major milestones - of the festival, of the Young Artist Awards (which have been sponsored by Standard Bank for 30 years) and of South Africa, in our 20th year of democracy," artistic director Ismail Mahomed said.
The event, which contributes an estimated R349.9m to the economy of the Eastern Cape each year, has become a touchstone for the state of South African art. "This year our artists have risen to the triple-anniversary challenge with some extraordinary proposals that we are excited to bring to life," Mahomed continued.
Bookings for the 2014 National Arts Festival open on 9 May and can be made online through the website www.nationalartsfestival.co.za.
