The first weekend of October will see the grounds of Hazendal Wine Estate explode with art and flair at the inaugural edition of the Hazendal Festival which will be dedicated to the incredible life-fostering organic material, soil.
The festival, named The Soil Edition, was launched at a glamorous event at the estate adjacent to Brackenfell on 14 August attended by the City’s diverse art community, its aim to foster dialogue among the participating artists, scientists and cultural practitioners. Visionary Khanyisile Mbongwa will be the founding curator of the inaugural festival to take place on the weekend of 4 to 6 October.
The Soil Edition will be guided by the Nguni proverb “Belele nje, Abathulunga”, which in English translates to “They may be asleep but they are not quiet” and in Afrikaans to “Hulle slaap dalk, maar hulle is nie stil nie”.
She explains: “This edition of the festival engages with our conceptions of geological time in the spirit of holding space for both grief and love, working with soil as an archive that holds shared stories of the past, present and future with the aim to give a hopeful contribution to the important contemporary concerns of today’s realities.”
“Soil Edition brings together a Community In Practice to engage in an interdisciplinary mapping of ecological grief as a form of love – evoking rematriation as an indigenous knowledge system, which offers a helpful and needed lens for humanity to transition away from soil exploitation and towards land repair and land care,” says Khanyisile.
“The commissioned works of the invited artists, scientists, spiritual healers and cultural innovators interlock to understand the fertility of soil from varying points of view.”Hazendal Wine Estate’s managing director Maxim Voloshin says that for Hazendal the notion of land is about responsibility. “. . . to work on and with the land towards a shared hopeful future.
If soil is to be seen through the lens of fertility, actions of hope are the fertilisers of repair”.
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The special commissions include a sculptural piece from Thania Petersen, a live intervention from Sethembile Msezane, an installation from Sisonke Papu, a wine-tasting intervention by Queezy Babaz, and the presentation of the special edition Hazendal MCC label designed by Athi-Patra Ruga.
The festival will also feature a gallery exhibition with works by celebrated contemporary South African artists including Lady Skollie, Inga Somdyala, Warren Maroon and Stephané E. Conradie.
Its celebration of soil will also include a live fashion show by fashion sustainability think tank Twyg, a live dance performance by Luke de Kock, short-film screenings by filmmakers including Lerato Shadi and Santiago Mostyn, a sensuality self-discovery workshop by Tapiwa Guzha, and music and sound explorations by Chimurenga.
A culinary offering will be created by the fine-dining Zulu chef Vusi Ndlovu together with Hazendal’s Head Chef Michelle Theron. The interdisciplinary curiosity of the Soil Edition will also feature a symposium hosted by Lungi Morrison, which will facilitate public conversations between the festival’s invited artists and South Africa’s leading academics including Prof Mark Swilling, Dr Christian Lueme, Prof Kensese Mossanda, Dr Uhuru Phalafala, Li’Tsoanelo Zwane, Ukhona Ntsali Mlandu and Prof Simeon Materechera.
In addition a thoughtful children’s programme compiled by Faatimah Mohamed-Luke will run at Wonderdal from 10:00 to 16:00 on Saturday and Sunday, in parallel with the rest of the festival’s day-time programme.
The event’s three-day programme will be on offer through both weekend passes and one-day tickets, which will be available for purchase on the Hazendal Wine Estate website from early September.Follow the event on social media with #HazendalFestival2024 and on the following channels: Facebook: @Hazendal Festival Hazendal Wine Estate, Instagram: @hazendalfestival hazendal_estate
