PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - As the memories made during this year's Plett Arts Festival linger, organisers are already putting the wheels in motion for celebrating a decade of the event next year.
This year provided a feast for the senses between 30 September and 9 October and, with the support of Wesgro, organisers have announced that the 10th festival will be hosted in 2023.
Organisers, artists and visitors had been full of praise for this year's festival that showcased music, food, fashion, traditional art, sculpture, digital art, dance and land art with focus on nature.
Festival director, Cindy Wilson-Trollip put together a programme that included the popular Plett Food & Film experience, music events, and the Plett ARTS Twilight Meander through Plett's Main Street.
It was the Plett Food & Film event that proved to once again be the highlight with a pairing of film with food and experiences inspired by a movie - this time The Great Dance, a Hunter's Story by Damon and Craig Foster.
The evening kicked off with a poetry reading by Was Lemuel of Antjie Krog's adapted San works, and paired with a veritable feast, including wild edibles, inspired by the hunting and foraging featured onscreen and a guided tasting of urban-foraged edible roots, leaves and unexpected delectable treats.
The final magical moments of the evening proved to be the most impressive as Dizu Plaatjie – of Amampondo fame – performed moving music from across the ages. The audience was enthralled by Plaatjie's performance, which finished with a standing ovation and calls for an encore.
Music has always featured prominently and one of these highlights this year was Main Fact and King Melisizwe bringing their signature styles to shisanyamas in Plett.
Another musical highlight was the Music in Nature segment. Jazz group The Collectiv played a sold-out show in the rose gardens of Bosky Dell, and in the forests of Bronze Fields Foundry, Wynand Davel and Rynier Prince played a duet of guitar and violin.
Local artist Robert Leggat, master bronze maker of Bronze Fields and sculptor of Plett's iconic Dolphin Circle, reported that at one point in the forest concert, a bird sang a duet along with the violin.
Celebrated musician Dizu Plaatjies and poet Was Lemuel performing at the Plett Food & Film Festival during the Plett Arts Festival 2022.
The Plett ARTS Twilight Meander featured exhibitions up and down Plett's Main Street but the galleries, shows and exhibitions spread from Nature's Valley to Main Street, Piesang Valley Hall, and Barrington's all the way to The Heath in Harkerville connecting artists and art-lovers across the region.
"The theme of CONNECT for Plett Arts 2022 was conceived to position the arts as an inter-connector of people, spaces, culture and business in our sometimes-fragmented society, and to promote the indefinable Plett feeling, so unique to each individual who comes to Plett," Wilson-Trollip said.
She also praised the local Plett talent. One of the highlights on this front was the Kranshoek's Rieldans troupe who performed energetic ancient dances, passed down by the San.
Another favourite among residents and visitors was the Plett Land Art Route which saw artists daily create pieces only to watch the tide and breeze dismantle and disperse the natural materials.
Wilson-Trollip thanked all supporters, artists and partners and, in particular, Wesgro for its support of this festival that will move into its tenth year in 2023.
Artist Annemie Oosthuizen at the opening of her exhibition at Milkwood Framing & Gallery at the Plett Arts Festival 2022.
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