Grahamstown National Arts Festival

The South African Tourism Department hosts the annual Grahamstown National Arts Festival, which usually takes place in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, and is one of the biggest festivals in Africa. It will happen again from 25th June to 5th July 2026.

The festival features the main series and a fringe program of equal weight, designed to celebrate all styles and genres. It will also include art, music, theater, dance, film, lectures, and workshops, with important visitors' plans in the works.

It stands as the largest annual celebration of the arts on the African continent, gathering artists from across the creative world under one umbrella.

Whether you are a dancer, musician, painter, or mere art lover, the Grahamstown National Arts Festival is where you belong.

From theatre to dance, opera to cabaret, fine art to craft art, classical music to jazz, poetry readings to lectures, every art form imaginable is represented in one of the most diverse festivals.

The festival will also provide a platform for Standard Bank Young Artists to display their artworks. The main program will also feature international work and brand-new pieces from South Africa’s top talent.

The National Arts Festival has always been open to all regardless of race, color, sex, or creed.

There has never been an artistic restraint imposed on works presented in Makhanda; the National Arts Festival served as an important forum for political and protest theatre during the program's height.

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