Jobs at risk from Gayton McKenzie's Arts funding cuts

FROM Cape Town to Makhanda, and Potchefstroom to Bloemfontein, the curtain is falling on SA’s biggest arts festivals as government funding is withdrawn.

- BRANDON NEL

The blow hits flagship events including Oudtshoorn’s Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees, Makhanda’s National Arts Festival, and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Aardklop in Potchefstroom, the Cape Town Carnival, Innibos in Mpumalanga, and Vryfees in the Free State were also affected.

The festivals are the lifeblood of SA’s cultural stage, generating millions of rand in revenue, putting food on the tables of hundreds of artists and technicians, and drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year.