The National Arts Festival will hold its third Nelson Mandela Bay Arts Festival, set to take place from February 22 until March 2. The festival will feature 36 different acts predominantly by locally-based artists as well as renowned performers.
The National Arts Festival’s Stakeholder and Partnerships Manager, Nobesuthu Rayi, said, “The NMB Arts Festival is unique, as it is artist-led; meaning the curation of the festival is done by artists. We bring together artists, organisations, and representatives of the artists to apply online.”
Artists who participated last year are not permitted to apply this year, as there is a one-year cooling-off period before they can apply again. Additionally, Rayi stated that this festival is a laboratory for artists to experiment so that when they get an opportunity to perform on bigger platforms, they will already have the necessary experience gained from their home, while thanking the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality for its continued support.
Speaking to PE Express, Sport, Recreation, Arts, and Culture MMC, Bongekile Mankahla, said, “Residents of Gqeberha should be the first beneficiaries of this event; hence, we called upon local artists to be part of the programme, while promoting our talented local artists.”
She added that the Metro is hoping to boost the economic state of Gqeberha because many people from outside the Metro will be in attendance.
According to Mankahla, having these visitors in Gqeberha will boost the economy as they will make use of the transportation and accommodation provided by the city. They estimate that they will generate more money this year than in previous years, aiming to make approximately R10 million from the whole festival for the Metro.
Explaining why she believes this year’s festival will be more lucrative for the Metro compared to previous years, Mankahla said, “We have invested quite a lot into this festival as the Metro. We prioritised and improved our advertising and marketing efforts this year. We have also made sure that artists receive a percentage of the ticket sales.”
Mankahla, on behalf of the Metro, calls upon all residents of the Nelson Mandela Bay District to come in numbers to support this local festival. Tickets can be bought on the Mandela Bay Arts Festival website by registering and verifying or by contacting your Ward Councillor to enquire about tickets, which range from R50 to R200.
