Open call: National Arts Festival 2024 Curated Programme in SA

The Curated Programme is open to artists from around the world and is aimed at producers and creative practitioners working across different disciplines and genres. The festival’s iteration marks 50 years for the NAF – a moment of reflection on its context within the South African landscape. 

The form invites applicants to submit information about either:

• Complete works (section A).
• Works currently in development (section B).
• New ideas (section C). 

A completed work would include works fully created, which have had some form of public presentation and are ready or close-to-ready to tour. These can be new or old works. A work currently in development includes work currently in the creation stage, and needing further finalisation before the work is ready to present to an audience. The new ideas section is for works still in a conceptual stage.

“We are largely looking for completed works, or works in development, for inclusion in the 2024 festival,” NFA said. “However, we are very interested to hear what ideas you have and we are open to engaging with submissions for new ideas.”

The open call is for works for the Curated Programme, a multi-disciplinary programme that will be selected by the festival’s artistic committee together with NAF artistic director Rucera Seethal.

“The texture and content of the festival always lives within any particular year’s programme, shaped around the works that are being made, and it is so for 2024,” Seethal said. “However, we broaden the lens for our 50th year to include works that speak across time, whether that be work that marks important milestones in South African cultural history, or works that speak to where we are going and what that future could look like. We are looking to time travel in 2024 and we would welcome a diversity of views on this through the perspectives of artists and creatives.”

Meanwhile, there will be a separate open call for the 2024 Fringe Programme, which is designed for producers from anywhere in the world to present work on an independent, self-funded basis. Fringe is not curated, but will be designed to match available venues in Makhanda. The open call for the Fringe Programme will open on 2 October 2023.

Artists who are interested in applying for the Curated Programme can apply here before 30 September.

All enquiries regarding this call should be sent via email at proposals@nationalartsfestival.co.za.

View the original call here.