While there were many changes ahead as the National Arts Festival moves into the digital realm, visual art remained a constant on the programme, said spokesperson Sascha Polkey.
“A wide-ranging and eclectic collection of works from South Africa and beyond will be available to view and explore online between 25 June and 5 July,” Polkey said.
Using a variety of technologies, the curated programme of the Virtual National Arts Festival includes 2020 Standard Bank Young Artist for Visual Art Blessing Ngobeni; Pitika Ntuli’s solo exhibition Azibuyele Emasisweni (Return to the Source), which features works sculpted in bone; and Phumulani Ntuli’s Frequencies of a Birthmark_Episode 1, a Creative Digital Arts exhibition that explores clan name lineage and histories in a virtual reality architectural walkthrough. This is just a taste of the selection of works soon to be announced.
There would also be a vibrant visual art element on the vFringe this year, with artists invited to exhibit their work online on a new-look, multifunctional National Arts Festival website that ws currently under wraps.