22 Jun 2009 Writer Phillippa Yaa de Villiers recently returned from an international residency at the Possa Porta writer’s festival in Belgium. This was part of her prize as the first winner of the National Arts Festival’s Writing beyond the Fringe programme.

“Attending the festival was tremendously affirming. I was very honoured to be representing South Africa at an international literary festival in Belgium,” said de Villiers.

De Villiers spent a month-long residency in Belgium and was one of 124 international authors who also attended the 3-day Passa Porta festival.

Her winning story, “The day Jesus dropped the ball and other stories”, is a personal narrative that unfolds in the midst of the racial and gender conundrums of South Africa.

“I had always envied Europe because the arts are so well funded, but when I saw that proliferation of product and the small audience that everyone was competing to attract, I felt lucky to come from a country where so many stories are still waiting to be told. There is a passion here, and an urgency, which adds meaning to the work,” she said.

The National Arts Festival Fringe received an enormous boost this year with the newly formed partnership signed between the Representation of Flanders in the Belgian Embassy and the National Arts Festival. This Belgian sponsorship, which constitutes about R1 million, is spread over various development projects, including the South African writer developme nt programme, Writing beyond the Fringe.

“This is a great initiative,” said de Villiers about Writing Beyond the Fringe (picture below right). “It allows people who want to be writers to imagine and live out their potential without going through the usual tough channels, of being approved by a publisher once you have written the story. An experience like this will feed into writing and raise the standards and the hopes of many writers,” she added.

“Competitions such as Writing Beyond the Fringe create opportunities for writers with ambition to get some recognition and cash as a reward for all their hard work. The prize of the residency is the best of all of it. It’s an opportunity to seclude oneself and look at one’s life from a distance – which may be comfortable or not,” she added.

Three other South African writers, Kurt Egelhof, Brink Scholtz and James Cairnes,  also received prizes from the DeBuren digital authors Radioboeken programme as part of the Writing Beyond the Fringe prize.

Together with de Villiers, they will be presenting their work on the Fringe Festival Readings programme. . Each of the writers will have their manuscripts produced as Digital Radio Books which will be translated into four different languages and made available as CDs and free Internet downloads. The four writers also each received a cash portion of three thousand Euros.

James Cairns offers a satirical look at the new South Africa using a clever narrative and a cell phone conversation between two lovers. Brink Scholtz narrates a beautiful and lyrical feminist meditation, seemingly on landscape, but subtly delving into a troublesome father-daughter relationship, whilst Kurt Egelhof’s story captures the atmosphere of the 70’s and 80’s, and the un-thought-through choices of two students who are rebels without a cause.

“Writing is an art that takes a long time to acquire, with few rewards along the way. I think that the National Arts Festival’s direction gives opportunities to committed artists who don’t fit into the mainstream, affirming their efforts and giving them the means to develop their skills,” said de Villiers.

Belgian writer Jef Aerts will participate in the National Arts Festival to reciprocate the exchange between the South African and Belgian partnership.  Jef Aerts is a published writer and a freelance editor.

Since 1998 he has, as a writing teacher, given several workshops on prose, drama and autobiography for students and adults. He also makes regular appearances as a reader, performer and musician at literary events and festivals in Europe.< /o:p>

Aerts will join the four winners and South African author Niq Mhlongo during the Festival in the series of readings and conversations that will take place at The Highlander on the 7th, 8th and 9th of July at 17:00. Admission is free.

For further information visit the website www.nationalartsfestival.co.za or phone 046 603 1103.

The “10 days of amazing!” at the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown will run from 2 – 11 July.

The National Arts Festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, The Eastern Cape Government, The National Arts Council, The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, The Sunday Independent and M Net.

About Writing Beyond the Fringe: This project is supported by the Representation of Flanders, and is a partnership between the National Arts Festival and the Belgium-based Possa Porta Festival and the Vlaams-Nederlands Huis DeBuren.

About the National Arts Festival: The National Arts Festival now in its 35th year has proved its sustainability and has grown to be one of the leading arts festivals in southern Africa. Its objectives are to deliver excellence; encourage innovation and development in the arts by providing a platform for both established and emerging South African artists; create opportunities for collaboration with international artists; and build new audiences.