The perceived contribution of three South African arts festivals to the development of the arts and tourism

Abstract

There has been a remarkable rise in the number of Afrikaans arts festivals in South Africa. The outcomes of such festivals, however, remain little understood, particularly concerning the arts festivals’ contribution to the arts. The aim of this study is to determine the contribution of three Afrikaans arts festivals, the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival, Innibos Arts Festival and Vrystaat Arts Festival (previously known as Vryfees), to the arts as perceived by the festival visitors. The three festivals were compared in terms of their perceived contribution where differences were analysed and areas that lack contribution were identified. To achieve the goal, questionnaire surveys were conducted, after which an exploratory factor analysis was performed to determine the perceived contribution factors at the arts festivals. ANOVAs were then conducted to determine any statistically significant differences between the festivals in terms of their perceived contribution to the performing arts and the visual arts. The results of this study indicate that the three festivals’ contributions varied in terms of the extent, type and levels of contribution to the arts they presented. Nevertheless, the results confirm that visitors to Afrikaans arts festivals in South Africa perceive them as contributing to the arts. Recommendations are made to develop effective strategies regarding marketing, programming and terrain planning to effectively increase the arts’ contribution at these three arts festivals.

Keywords: Arts, arts festival, contribution, development, perception, Innibos, Klein Karoo National Arts Festival, Vrystaat Arts Festival