Seasoned festival attendees might have noticed that, in 2012, the programme was slightly edgier and more daring than it had been in the past. Explaining this choice, the new Chairperson of the Artistic Committee Jay Pather, explored the role of the Festival, and the arts, in the contemporary political landscape:    

 “In our deliberations at the National Arts Festival, the number of applications that we receive is demographically skewed. It is a sad reflection of how far we have come (or rather, not) in attempts at education and development, redress and funding opportunities. A disturbing trend recurs. Young black artists emerge with powerful, groundbreaking work. This is seemingly where the growth stops. A vehicle that mediates, and carefully grows these precious buds into strong and sustainable forests is missing. A sad disconnect exists here and as much I want this address to be full of epithets of positivity, there are moments when things reach a head that we simply cannot ignore. We should look at this more closely. Because in the absence of some clearly defined mechanism to safeguard this, the strange habitual repetitiveness of a time we thought we left behind occurs without warning and in this unfortunate pattern, it is impossible to ignore race. And so as much as excellence in the arts does, race matters.

With this in mind the Artistic Committee is hard-pressed to develop ways of selection and curation. While the open call is still priority, and so is excellence, we are committed to looking closely at repetitive patterns of absence and skewed demographics and other more concerted ways of programming are in place.

This year’s programme is packed with excellence and innovation. It is an abundant and diverse programme. Most importantly, it makes conscious attempts to extend the range of work to the cutting-edge contemporary.  Several inter-disciplinary works and collaborations, and a whole new category of performance art that blurs boundaries between genres and invites out the box thinking, mark a programme that secures the classical and the tried and the tested but that invites works that break new ground.

Several international works including those from the much-anticipated French Season in South Africa, as well as national works across the disciplines, walk a tightrope of edgy aesthetics. A veritable feast from far flung sources in one space. From Think!Fest, which features provocations for intellectual engagement in lectures from culture to politics, to a startling Arena programme and one of the biggest Fringes we have had, the programme is truly a national body of work.  The palpable passion and talent of the artists featured here to the young, increasingly inventive performers on the streets of Grahamstown, all bear testimony to a wealth in our nation beyond the hyperbole. It is incumbent on us to get the absences right.

An artist creates in a moment of risk and great vulnerability. When they fly, they carry all we ever believe in. It is both a responsibility and a liberation. I trust that we have provided enough support to make the flight robust and confident…”