KNYSNA ARTS FESTIVAL (1 ­ 9 October, 2016)

The performing arts, visual arts, workshops, lectures and discussions ­ the second independentKnysna Arts Festival is brought to you by Lew Geffen | Sotheby’s International Realty, Knysna, with the backing of Knysna & Partners.
Comedy to headline Knysna Arts Festival’s performance programme Hash Tag Lottering! ­ Marc Lottering’s hilarious new single­handed stand­up comedy show ­ will headline the performing arts programme at this year’s Knysna Arts Festival.
“Marc has to be one of South Africa’s top comedians, and the fact that he’ll be here forthe Knysna Arts Festival is an exciting measure of the high quality that the Festival is aiming to achieve,” said Peter Mare, principal of Lew Geffen | Sotheby’s International Realty, Knysna, the festival’s chief sponsor.
He said that the Arts Festival has grown substantially this year. “Fitting so many elements into the programme has been a massive job, but I think the organisers have thought of everything. They’ve even scheduled Hash Tag Lottering! ­ which will play in the Montessori Amphitheatre on the 8th of October ­ to begin at 8:00p.m.
“This is because the big game in Durban kicks off at five past five ­ which gives the Springboks (and local fans) plenty of time to demonstrate the fine art of South African rugby to the All Blacks before Marc’s show begins.”
Exciting entertainment:
The shows Ilizwi, by Ingrid Wylde and Vuyo Jack, Dianne Simpson’s Rose Red, and ‘Oom Schalk from the Heart’ (David Muller’s interpretation of Herman Charles Bosman’s beloved bushveld stories) will also feature on the Art Festival programme, alongside a number of lectures, workshops and outings.
Set in the ‘50s and ‘60s in Meadowlands and Soweto, Ilizwi (‘Voice’ in isiXhosa) is a love story told via the best of South African jazz, with original compositions by Zanika Mehta alongside favourites like Meadowlands, Ntyiko, Ntyilo, Lakutshoni Langa, and Weekend Special.
In Rose Red, Dianne Simpson takes a fresh look at the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale, Snow White, from the perspective of its least likeable character: the horrible stepmother and Evil Queen (“Who’s the fairest of them all?”). The storytelling is interwoven with songs by Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Tori Amos, Rufus Wainwright, Sarah McLachlan, and others.
Interaction:
Festival manager Owen Roberts said that the fringe programme is designed to create interaction between presenters and festinos.
“The fringe includes a special presentation on ‘Economic Challenges in a Rapidly Changing World,’ by the retired governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Gill Marcus, as well as lectures and guided walks by photographers, historians and military specialists, and field outings such as a visit to Robert Leggat’s bronze foundry in Harkerville, and a beach walk with the Knysna Basin Project.
“The whole idea is to use the festival as a platform for sharing knowledge, while at the same time appreciating the diversity of area through our various cultures,” he said.
Visual arts:
“Painting, drawing, and sculpture will always remain the anchor tenants of the Knysna Arts Festival, which is why we believe that the planned exhibition of South African Masters that will be presented by Knysna Fine Art at the Festival’s Art Hub will be a particularly significant event,” said Greg Vogt, the CEO of the town’s destination management and marketing organisation, Knysna & Partners.

Knysna Fine Art is one of South Africa’s largest and most successful commercial galleries.
Featured artists on this year’s Festival programme include sculptor Veronica de Voogt, her husband, the photographer Willem de Voogt, and painters Sue Kemp, Bob McKenzie, and father­and­son team Dale and Mel Elliot. (Dale founded the original Knysna Art Festival ­ which ran for about 10 years from the mid­90s, and which was revived in 2015 by Owen Roberts and his team.)
Bookings:
Mr. Vogt said that bookings for performances and the fringe programme will open on 1 September ­ Spring Day in the Southern Hemisphere.
“Tickets will be available online via iTickets and the region’s Garden Route & Klein Karoo
Tourism App, and also ­ for anyone who doesn’t have access to the net, or who might struggle with the technology ­ from Sotheby’s International Realty in Knysna, Sedgefield or Mossel Bay, where trained staff will process electronic purchases on your behalf.”
He encouraged everyone to follow the hashtag #ArtFestKnysna on Twitter, and to like

KnysnaArtsFestival on Facebook.

“We’re looking forward to the Knysna Arts Festival and its ‘Displays of Brilliance’,” he said.

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