It has been 10 years since Hermanus FynArts Director, Mary Faure, approached the Overstrand Municipality with a plan to make her dream of an Hermanus arts festival a reality.
The first official meeting with local government was met with encouragement and an undertaking to assist where possible.
Initially the festival was to be a tourism event focussed on drawing new visitors for more than one night’s stay in Hermanus during the quiet winter season.
The emphasis evolved as the festival programme developed into a unique Western Cape offering that gained traction as a highlight on the calendars of art lovers across South Africa.
The Overstrand Municipality committed its support to the fine arts since the festival’s first hosting in 2013 – both financially and logistically.
The public-private sector collaboration was clearly beneficial as this year marks a decade worth of community effort, organisation, and development. Working together has enabled the festival to grow and meet the demands of changing environmental circumstances.
Hermanus FynArts introduced the Sculptures on the Cliff exhibition in 2014, one year after the inaugural festival hosting, and the success of the initial 6-month sculpture display has been adorning Gearings Point ever since.
When the idea for a public display of giant-sized sculptures at Gearings Point were conceptualised with the aim of complementing the festival programme the Overstrand Municipality gave the go-ahead for the idea to be realised and contributed to the cost of casting the platforms for the artworks.
Every year Hermanus FynArts has attracted bigger audiences to a growing variety of events staged. Sculptures on the Cliffs has the added benefit that it is outdoors and freely available for appreciation at all times.
Overstrand Municipality Executive Mayor, Dr Annelie Rabie, said: “The Overstrand Municipality is looking forward to welcome the landmark 10th anniversary of the Hermanus FynArts Festival and a Sculptures on the Cliff exhibition with new public works of art”.
Don’t miss this year’s Fynarts Festival from 10 to 19 June 2022!
