Next year March, the National Arts Festival will use the the fence around the Fiddlers’ Green precinct as a temporary art gallery.
Next year March, the National Arts Festival will use the the fence around the Fiddlers’ Green precinct as a temporary art gallery.
The exhibition, entitled Foto Fence, will feature photographs of life in and around the City, and is a part ot the Creative City Project.
At the same time as the opening, winners of a city-wide photography competition will be named.
The Foto Fence project is the brainchild of Rhodes University lecturer and photographer Brent Meistre, who hopes to identify up-and-coming photographers deserving of further training and mentorship through the project.
Meistre said that the judges were looking for photographs taken by ordinary Grahamstonians “reflecting their life in and attitude toward their city” in four categories: City/land scapes; Afro-futurists and selfies; Life up-close; and Live–action.
“The reason we’re embarking on the competition is to find some talented young photographers, people with a passion for photography and a good eye.
We’ll then draw them in to our Makana Arts Academy training programme and help them get their professional careers started,” Festival CEO Tony Lankester said. Meistre, will head the judging panel and lead the process.
He said he was hoping "to discover hidden creative photographers in Grahamstown who see their immediate world around them with a fresh, unique and different eye."
The judges will select the finalists whose work, together with the work of established Grahamstown photographers, will make up the Foto Fence exhibition in March.
Anyone may enter the competition, but the stipulation is that photographs must be taken in the Grahamstown/Makana area. The closing date for entries is 13 February 2015 and full details and entry forms are available for download at www.creativecity.co.za
The Creative City Partnership sees multiple partners join forces to guide Grahamstown toward becoming a centre of creative excellence beyond the annual festivals and institutions for which the City is already known.
Within the ambit of the Creative City project is a partnership between the National Arts Festival and European Union, which has created the Makana Arts Academy.
The Academy aims to identify talented, creative individuals in the City who are seeking mentorship and training so that they are better equipped to embark on professional careers in the creative sector.
