More than 250 artists from the Eastern Cape will showcase their talent at the Virtual National Arts Festival starting on Thursday 8 July, says Eastern Cape Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture MEC, Fezeka Nkomonye. The festival which was going to be both virtual and physical will now be 100% virtual following the adjusted level 4 lockdown announced by the President.
“The R2 million that we have put into the festival specifically for the Eastern Cape showcase reaffirms our commitment to supporting the sector in moving from relief to recovery,” said Nkomonye. “I’m particularly pleased with the work taking place in our theatres – Mandela Bay Theatre Complex, in Gqeberha, and Guild theatre in East London – where the work of our artists is being recorded and packaged for this virtual platform.”
Nkomonye said 64 participants in eight Jazz groups from all the districts in the Eastern Cape and 30 dancers are among the lineup in the province’s showcase.
As well as emerging artists, well known Eastern Cape artists such as Nathi Mankayi, Masizole Fololo and Dumza Maswana are among those who will be keeping audiences entertained during the Festival.
The Literature Festival will see 35 books being launched. Library services would buy copies of the books to be distributed to libraries across the province, Nkomonye said.
“We will support any programme aimed at mitigating the effects of Covid-19 on artists.”
The National Arts Festival runs from 8 to 31 July 2021. Initially planned as a mixture of live and virtual performances and exhibitions, the alert Level 4 Disaster Management Act regulations for Covid-19 mean the entire Festival will again be virtual, as it was in 2020.
