(Pic: RAD artist Johannes Ngcobo)All roads lead to Kizo at Gateway over the Heritage Day period.
The Gateway Theatre of Shopping will once again pulsate from the beat of drums, music, dance and the creative arts as hundreds of the province’s most talented artists celebrate their heritage during The Heritage Arts Festival in September.
This popular multi-award winning festival has grown from year to year to become one of the largest arts festivals in Africa. Over 1,7 million people visit The Gateway Theatre of Shopping during Heritage month each year and this provides a wonderful opportunity for artists to profile their exceptional talents.
The 2009 festival consists of a plethora of exciting events that range from a serious art exhibition and the most important Heritage Awards of the South African calendar at the ICC to fun projects such as Try Your Hand At Painting public areas, a Bafana Bafana Wish Wall, buskers, face and henna painters, youth programmes, music concerts and art expo’s amongst numerous others.
One of the highlights of the festival is the Retail Art Development Programme (RAD) which runs from September 22 to 27 at the Expo Explore Court Gateway. The RAD project focuses on providing artists and crafters from clusters throughout KwaZulu-Natal with the necessary skills and the marketing platforms to exhibit and sell their works. Entrance is free.
This year’s programme follows the footsteps of the hugely successful event last year, in which participating artists experienced strong sales, media exposure, training and generated valuable contacts. Additionally, the artists retain 100% of the income generated from the sales of their own work.
RAD is supported by leaders from the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, eThekwini Municipality’s Business Support Unit, the National Arts Council and TradePoint Durban and the Department of Arts and culture, Provincial Government, Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Kizo Art Consultants and a supporting grant from BASA.
The public is encouraged to take their children to Gateway during the month of September in order to meet and or purchase directly from the artists and crafters, to watch the entertainers perform, to join the large drum circle or to simply try your hand at painting. All in all, the festival promises to offer something for all and is sure to achieve its goal of encouraging and promoting a love and appreciation for the arts and culture of our wonderful Province.
The Heritage Arts Festival forms an integral part of the Celebrate Durban Programme and is supported by Celebrate Durban and eThekwini, Provincial Government, Independent Newspapers, Business and Art South Africa (BASA), National Arts Council (NAC), Gateway, Kizo Art Consultants, Nedbank and Committed Artists.
The full programme of events in the Heritage Arts Festival is available on www.kizo.co.za or on 031 566 4322/4.
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