Grahamstown, already known as a City of Saints, is fast earning a reputation as a city of artists.
This week the Grahamstown-based National Arts Festival (NAF) opened a permanent art gallery, the Festival Gallery, as part of their Creative City project aimed at showcasing local talent.
Festival CEO Tony Lankester said they wanted the impact of the 12-day annual festival to be felt all year long.
“We want to use the festival brand, our institutional reputation and contacts to try and build creative industries in the city,” he said. He punted the creative city concept as a bold idea which embraced a wide range of local projects. It would contribute to making Grahamstown one of the most creative cities in South Africa.
“The Creative City project pulls together a major alliance of institutions in Grahamstown, among them festivals, tourism bodies, arts NGOs, educational and government entities, and harnesses their collective passion for creativity to benefit the city.”
The umbrella movement initiated by the NAF includes Makana Municipality, Rhodes University, Sarah Baartman District Municipality, the Eastern Cape government, Makana Tourism, Fingo Festival, the European Union and local arts lovers.
The flagship of the Creative City project is the Makana Arts Academy which offers skills and resources to creative Grahamstown residents.
Lankester said the purpose was to turn talent, skills and passion into sustainable careers.
The academy supports existing initiatives in choral music, photography, theatre, visual arts and crafts, but will also initiate its own projects.
The Festival Gallery opened earlier this week at 38 Somerset Street, wedged between the Handmade Coffee shop and artist Tori Stowe’s Corner Shop.
Lankester said: “The gallery is part of the broader Creative City project, where the festival is investing in projects and initiatives to provide more year-round opportunities for Grahamstown and Eastern Cape-based artists.
“It’s a space where artists can display and sell their work and promote their careers.”
The NAF aims to use the space to showcase photography, sculpture, craft, painting and other mediums, with specially themed and curated exhibitions planned.
“For many artists it will be the only time a commercial gallery will open its doors to them.
“We’re not in it to make money, but to promote Eastern Cape artists outside festival time.”
A 20% commission is taken on all sales which is half the commission charged by big city commercial galleries.
Artists included in the first exhibition are from Grahamstown, Hamburg and Port Elizabeth.
Lankester said: “This is new terrain for us as much as anyone else.”
According to a 2013 survey, the festival’s contribution of R90-million to Grahamstown and R340-million to the provincial GDP was made during a frenetic couple of weeks.
Lankester said the gallery would become viable over time and that the NAF had committed itself financially to keeping the doors open for the first two years. — davidm@dispatch.co.za
Gallery to spread impact of festival
This week the Grahamstown-based National Arts Festival (NAF) opened a permanent art gallery, the Festival Gallery, as part of their Creative City project aimed at showcasing local talent.
Festival CEO Tony Lankester said they wanted the impact of the 12-day annual festival to be felt all year long.
“We want to use the festival brand, our institutional reputation and contacts to try and build creative industries in the city,” he said. He punted the creative city concept as a bold idea which embraced a wide range of local projects. It would contribute to making Grahamstown one of the most creative cities in South Africa.
“The Creative City project pulls together a major alliance of institutions in Grahamstown, among them festivals, tourism bodies, arts NGOs, educational and government entities, and harnesses their collective passion for creativity to benefit the city.”
The umbrella movement initiated by the NAF includes Makana Municipality, Rhodes University, Sarah Baartman District Municipality, the Eastern Cape government, Makana Tourism, Fingo Festival, the European Union and local arts lovers.
The flagship of the Creative City project is the Makana Arts Academy which offers skills and resources to creative Grahamstown residents.
Lankester said the purpose was to turn talent, skills and passion into sustainable careers.
The academy supports existing initiatives in choral music, photography, theatre, visual arts and crafts, but will also initiate its own projects.
The Festival Gallery opened earlier this week at 38 Somerset Street, wedged between the Handmade Coffee shop and artist Tori Stowe’s Corner Shop.
Lankester said: “The gallery is part of the broader Creative City project, where the festival is investing in projects and initiatives to provide more year-round opportunities for Grahamstown and Eastern Cape-based artists.
“It’s a space where artists can display and sell their work and promote their careers.”
The NAF aims to use the space to showcase photography, sculpture, craft, painting and other mediums, with specially themed and curated exhibitions planned.
“For many artists it will be the only time a commercial gallery will open its doors to them.
“We’re not in it to make money, but to promote Eastern Cape artists outside festival time.”
A 20% commission is taken on all sales which is half the commission charged by big city commercial galleries.
Artists included in the first exhibition are from Grahamstown, Hamburg and Port Elizabeth.
Lankester said: “This is new terrain for us as much as anyone else.”
According to a 2013 survey, the festival’s contribution of R90-million to Grahamstown and R340-million to the provincial GDP was made during a frenetic couple of weeks.
Lankester said the gallery would become viable over time and that the NAF had committed itself financially to keeping the doors open for the first two years. — davidm@dispatch.co.za
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