The call for registration for the 2020 Fringe at the National Arts Festival is now open! The 46th Festival will take place from 25 June – 5 July 2020 in Makhanda (Grahamstown).

The Fringe is the non-curated part of the Festival programme; open to all. It provides a space where artists and producers can showcase a variety of works from music and visual art to dance, theatre, poetry, family fare, public art and more to the Festival audience and their peers.

“The Fringe has always created a platform for artists to test new ideas, collaborate with other artists and also network with and exhibit to international producers who are at the Festival,” says Fringe Festival Manager Zikhona Monaheng.

Although the National Arts Festival is currently in a research phase towards reimagining a new Fringe model, the 2020 Fringe will remain the same as it has in previous years.

“Artists aspiring to bring work to NAF should read the Fringe handbook carefully to ensure they are fully aware of their obligations,” says Monaheng. “These include marketing their own works and paying for their production to be staged. Beyond this, we hope that artists will see that there is a big opportunity to connect with the artistic community both locally and internationally.”

Deadlines

• 31 December: Early bird deadline – submit your application, pay your registration fee and get a 10% discount and free digital poster
• 20 January: Closing date for productions and contemporary music
• 31 January: Film and Visual Art

Artist Zone

• Go to the Artist Zone for more about the 2020 National Arts Festival Fringe application process. Here you’ll find guides to the Fringe, a budget calculator and online application forms.

Image: The Last Straw, performed at NAF2019