Inaugural Hazendal Festival Soil Edition celebrates art, ecology, and community
Cape Town - This weekend, the picturesque Hazendal Wine Estate will transform into a vibrant canvas of earthy tones and creative expression as it hosts the inaugural Hazendal Festival Soil Edition.
Spanning from October 4 to 6, the festival invites attendees to connect with nature through various artistic forms, culinary delights, and enriching experiences curated by Khanyisile Mbongwa.
Central to this year's theme is the Nguni proverb, ‘Belele nje, Abathulunga', meaning ‘They may be asleep but they are not quiet'. This guiding principle serves as a poignant reminder of the delicate balance between tranquillity and the vital conversation about our relationship with the earth.
From art installations, wine tasting, choreographed dance and various options of food.
Among the guests and keynote speakers at the festival is Desmond Tutu's granddaughter, Lungi Morrison, who will act as panel facilitator at the two-day Symposium at the Hazendal Festival Soil Edition.
Mbongwa elaborates on the festival's deeper themes.
“The Hazendal Festival Soil Edition invited artists, scientists, and cultural visionaries to be in a deep time conversation with soil by engaging with ecological grief as love.”
“The festival invited artists, scientists and cultural visionaries to be in a deep time conversation with soil by engaging with ecological grief as love, and being guided by rematriation as an indigenous knowledge system of pathfinding; making way in how we can hold our shared inheritance.
“In engaging with ecological grief as love, is a way to tend to questions of our repair and care for histories of land displacement, genocides and environment.
“In this festival, we attend to the soil by engaging with ancient and indigenous practices of being in balance with the ecosystem as we sit in and with ecological grief.
“In this sacred gathering of scientists, artists and cultural practitioners in a way we form a community in practice, in thinking with and alongside each other about the state of our ecosystem, the state of our shared inheritance, and exploring the ways of how alchemy can occur by putting these various practices together.”
Patrons can experience historical narrative dance pieces to ice cream making with indigenous ingredients. One can expect to experience tea ceremonies and natural pigment workshops, wine and vodka tasting to live music, to live music, featuring bands and DJs.
Festival-goers will also delve into the dynamic world of contemporary South African art, as a gallery exhibition will showcase works by renowned artists such as Lady Skollie, Inga Somdyala, Warren Maroon, and Stephané E. Conradie.
Adding a melodic touch to this vibrant event, singer Zolani Mahola, accompanied by Tebogo Louw, will charm audiences while DJs Daddy, Phatstoki, and Attiyah Khan promise to keep the spirits high with infectious tunes.
Highlighting the importance of community and connectivity, contemporary dance director Luke de Kock will present the Camissa Heritage Tour – a site-specific performance that intertwines storytelling with the captivating landscapes of the estate.
He explained: “The audience can expect a journey of storytelling, moving through spaces within the wine estate that speaks to the embodied historical narrative.”
Children are also set to be engaged at Hazendal's Edutainment Centre, Wonderdal, which will feature daily workshops designed to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.
Maxim Voloshin, Managing Director of Hazendal, underscores the festival's commitment to responsible land stewardship. “For Hazendal, the notion of land is about responsibility – to work on and with the land towards a shared hopeful future.”
With weekend passes and one-day tickets ranging from free to R250, this festival promises an inclusive celebration of art and ecology, designed to awaken the senses and inspire discussions about sustainability and community.