The National Arts Festival (NAF) was a celebration of excellence and amongst the larger arts festivals in the world, South African Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan said at a media conference at the 1820 Settlers Monument Theatre complex on Friday.
The NAF runs from June 30 to July 9 and events, including art exhibitions, are spread over 78 venues in Grahamstown. The local economy, which is primarily based on education with Rhodes University and several boarding schools, receives an estimated R35-million from the tourists who visit the city for the NAF.
The NAF started in 1974 to celebrate the English language and in particular the contribution of the 1820 Settlers to culture in South Africa. In August 1994, the Monument complex was severely damaged by fire, but has since been restored to its former glory.
This year, the main programme consists of 282 shows, whilst the Fringe programme has 268 shows.The extent of the international recognition of the NAF is underlined by contributions from several embassies/aid organisations such as the Dutch, French, Mexican, Spanish, Swedish and Swiss embassies. Attendance last year was 131 600 compared with 121 000 in 2003 with around 10% coming from outside South Africa.
Figures for this year will be available shortly after the NAF ends, but balmy weather, with maximum temperatures easily in the mid-twenties, has encouraged browsing and street theatre, and visitor numbers are expected to be
higher than last year.
“The Grahamstown Festival is a major item on the cultural calendar of South Africa and the other festivals that have started as a result of its success in other parts of South Africa in no way diminishes its stature as the National Arts Festival. What is encouraging is that the economic benefits of the festival are percolating down to the local population. In addition, the festival now includes other languages,” said Jordan .
In particular, Jordan praised Standard Bank for sponsoring an audience awareness programme, which involved taking school children from the surrounding areas and then hosting them for a day, so that they could see several shows and learn about the arts and drama and be inspired.
“I ask that other companies follow Standard Banks’ lead, as it is my hope that these schools will in future present shows here and the artists nurtured by this experience will use Grahamstown to launch international careers,” Jordan concluded.