The Grahamstown National Arts Festival is not only the time for fun and stage performances but it is also a time for entrepreneurial opportunities.
This is after the launch of the Innovation Hub at the official opening of the festival, which is an initiative that offers the entrepreneurs in Grahamstown publicity. Renting out bicycles, charging cell phones, providing food at the key venues and running a spaza shop in Rhodes Campus, are some of the key projects for this initiative.
The CEO of the National Arts Festival, Tony Lankester points out that this is another way of promoting employment during the Festival.
“We provide assistance to these entrepreneurs by offering them training sessions in partnership with the Makana Municipality and the Rhodes Investec Business School”, said Tony Lankester.
This being 19th Fest, Lankester feels that the festival can never get bigger but, overall can get better. He also mentions that they have established World Festival Alliance in 2010. This drew seven festivals from around the world together.
This alliance comprises of the worlds three biggest art festivals, which are Edinburgh, Adelaide and Grahamstown and four strategic partner festivals which are Dubai, Prague, Amsterdam and Los Angeles.
Lankester also plans to create better working networks with some art festivals from other African countries.
1 comment:
Is there anyway that entrepreneurship can be maintained even when the festival is not on? Surely there must be some kind of opportunity in Grahamstown for someone with a little money to spend to invest in something feasible and sustainable?
Please let me know if you have any ideas.
Stephan Henrico
henricosva@vodamail.co.za
0824427049
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