National Arts Festival opens 2027 Fringe Applications
The National Arts Festival has opened applications for its 2027 Fringe Programme, inviting artists from across South Africa and around the world to submit work for consideration. Application closes on 8 November 2026.
The call is a deliberately open one. The Festival is looking for work that reflects the full diversity of who is making it and where they are making it from – seeking voices and practices from every corner of South Africa and beyond.
Within that broad call, the Festival is especially keen to hear from artists working at the intersection of new mediums, digital technologies and indigenous knowledge systems. This is work that draws on emerging tools and technologies, pushing new boundaries while remaining rooted in the creative practice, imagination and experimentation. The interpretation of cultural expression, emerging genres or styles, returning and new artists and performers will all be considered.
Zikhona Monaheng, Associate Producer of the National Arts Festival, says:
“The Fringe has always been where the Festival takes its biggest risks on new voices and new ideas. The Fringe has also been the space where the National Arts Festival welcomes the next generation of makers and disruptors and we’re again inviting work that pushes boundaries and blurs lines, work that is joyful, friendly and interesting for young audiences and work that lives outside of theatres and halls.”
Although the Fringe has no artistic selection process, participation is governed by available and appropriate spaces, funding and a balance of works from across the country, including cultural and language diversity.
Artists interested in applying can find full details and submission guidelines on the National Arts Festival’s website here.
Applications closes on 8 November 2026 at 23h59 SAST.
About National Arts Festival
The National Arts Festival is South Africa’s largest multi-disciplinary arts event, operating continuously since 1974. Held annually in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown), the Festival presents new and established work across theatre, music, dance, comedy, literature, visual art, and experimental forms. The Festival serves as a key platform for South African cultural production, artist development, and international cultural exchange.
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