Ticket sales for Plett ARTS Festival Now OPEN
After an unfortunate delay in July due to increased lockdown regulations, the arts community of Plettenberg Bay has rallied around new dates for the Plett ARTS Festival: 1 – 10 October 2021, and tickets are now on sale for a reimagined festival that puts outdoor spaces and nature centre stage.
This year, Plettenberg Bay celebrates the arts with ten days dedicated to live and pop-up performances, workshops, exhibitions, film, and much more from 1 – 10 October 2021 during the 8th annual Plett ARTS Festival. As always, Plett presents a one-of-a-kind backdrop to an arts extravaganza not to be missed.
“We are always inspired by our natural surroundings in Plett, and the partnership between art and nature,” says festival director, Cindy Wilson-Trollip, “and given our current state of travel, we wanted to offer festival experiences that were both unexpected and appealing to the 2021 traveller.” Thus, the festival provides a platter of immersive art experiences and performances in nature alongside our traditional exhibitions and pop-ups.
Delightfully different events include a musical marine safari, calling to the whales with saxophone blues and Afrojazz provided by Marcellus Welman – a memorable feast for the senses. Baritone, Mike Bhayibhile and soprano and pianist, Lisa Engelbrecht, bring popular and classical performances pieces to the Bosky Dell Rose Garden, and the Keurbooms River ravine provides an amphitheatre to popular classics on the water by Minx on violin with a river ferry cruise.
Garden Route Walking Festival pioneer, Galeo Saintz guides an unforgettable walking adventure paired with a poetry recital that promises to be as inspiring as the views are breathtaking. Poetry is a highlight of the programme this year, with thoughtful and rousing works from Galeo, Ntombi Wonci and Was Lemeul.
Other highlights of the programme are the returning Plett Twilight Meander, Plett Concerts, and Plett Food & Film. Art-lovers can take a tour of galleries and pop-ups throughout the festival, with music and artists in attendance on opening nights and during the Tuesday-evening Twilight Meander. Winter School also returns with a series of workshops, hosted at Barrington’s, on drawing, and upcycling for children, in addition to stellar installation exhibitions and artists in residence.
Perfectly positioned for our art-in-nature theme, Land Art returns to Plettenberg Bay for the festival. Following two successful Site_Specific Land Art installations in 2012 and 2013, this year’s activation will feature six sites for pop-up artworks: Piesang River mouth, Central Beach, Hobie Beach, Wedge Beach, the Lookout Peninsula, and Lookout Beach. Land Art is created using materials from the natural environment and are on display only for as nature (the tide, the winds, the waves) allows – a transient beauty as perfectly fleeting as a spring breeze. This follows the unveiling of the Plett Recycling Project whale sculpture in June, created by local artist, Derek Saul, from recycled materials and functioning as an enormous, attractive receptable for recyclable plastic bearing the slogan “Feed me, not the sea.”
For peace of mind and respect for our visitors and artists, all current COVID19 safety protocols will be monitored and adhered to. Visitors are encouraged to #PlettArtsSafely by maintaining social distancing wearing masks at both indoor and outdoor venues, and sanitizing hands frequently. Organizers will be doing their part by offering bubble seating and hand sanitizing, limiting capacity at well-ventilated venues, screening on entry and online ticketing.