Bay new node in NAFs axis of art

LONG-STARVED of a vibrant arts scene Nelson Mandela Bay’s creative community, in partnership with several government agencies, has decided to circumvent this and are now at the forefront of an arts movement set to draw tourists en route to the province’s annual National Arts Festival.

The recent linkage between the organisers of the National Arts Festival and the Nelson Mandela Bay arts community is an attempt at once to leverage the tourism – and its consequent economic spinoffs – attached to the Grahamstown event and to give local artists a platform on the world stage. It is hoped this this will create an “axis of art” which promotes Eastern Cape arts as a whole through key nodes, or landing points, for tourists. 

“With about 180 000 tourists and performers coming into the Eastern Cape, often via Nelson Mandela Bay, it makes sense that we initiate activities in our city that not only showcases our tourism offering, but that boosts local artists’ exposure on a national and international level,” said Mandlakazi Skefile, Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT) chief executive.

Local development drivers, the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) in conjunction with the National Lottery Distribution Fund, launched a public art campaign in 2009 on the Donkin Reserve. The project is a phased initiative that will ultimately see 67 pieces of public art strategically placed around the Port Elizabeth CBD, MBDA officials said.  
Route 67 aims to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 67-year role in South African politics and bring tourists to the historical centre of the city, explained MBDA planning and development manager Dorelle Sapere.   
 
The ‘Route 67’ meanders through the CBD taking visitors past some of the Bay’s oldest monuments, art deco architecture and a series of open-air artworks. Ten public artworks are already on exhibition and a further ten will be unveiled in September this year.

The initiative attracted the attention of the local arts community and soon there was an active drive to leverage the catalytic impact the MBDA’s work was having, explained local artist Anthony Harris.

Harris is now the facilitator of the ‘Arts Journey’ – the city’s umbrella body of arts institutions for the National Arts Festival 2011, which includes exhibitions and showcases on the Route 67 and at ArtEC, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, the newly refurbished Athenaeum, the historic Red Location museum and Ron Belling Gallery.

At an momentous meeting in February this year hosted by Harris and the MBDA between key role players in the city’s arts institutions, the National Arts Festival directorate and NMBT, it was agreed that a partnership to develop a sustainable creative arts industry would be initiated. “The inclusion on the National Arts Festival fringe programme was a major breakthrough for us,” said Harris, who had been in discussions with the NAF since 2009 on how to incorporate Nelson Mandela Bay.

“We decided it would be better to incorporate Route 67 it into a bigger picture of the city’s arts industry in totality. This year we will focus exclusively on the visual arts but this is a small part of what we would like it to be in the future. We want it to be a festival promoting all the arts – performing, visual, musical, multimedia – which is what we envisage for 2012.”

The support from the National Arts Festival has been “incredible” as Nelson Mandela Bay takes its place of the festival fringe, literally and figuratively, as the “gateway” to the festival. “As a result (this) presents the people of Nelson Mandela Bay a huge opportunity to derive economic benefit from these tourists and offers (visitors) added value to their trip,” said National Arts Festival chief executive, Tony Lankester.

He said the creation of partnerships outside of Grahamstown is critical to the festival’s growth strategy. “While our home, and heart, is and always will be Grahamstown, the reach and impact of the event is such that we can work with like-minded artistic communities around us to build the province’s profile and position it as the home of cutting-edge and innovative arts.

“Connections with art institutions in Nelson Mandela Bay, for us, are about creating an ‘Axis of Art’: a landing point for anyone travelling to this part of the world with an interest in art. In years to come this will hopefully take root and grow and help extend the experience of visitors to the province so that AMAZ!NG doesn't just start when they turn off the N2 and get into Grahamstown, but it starts when they land in Port Elizabeth.”

This potential outcome is endorsed by NMBT which is “ecstatic” about the possibilities for tourism. “We encourage National Arts Festival visitors to include Nelson Mandela Bay on their festival route and experience the exciting arts revolution we are undergoing in the city,” said Skefile. “Come take the Nelson Mandela Bay Arts Journey with us.”