GEORGE NEWS - Whether you are an art lover, a proud homeowner with spare wall space, a wannabe collector, or an established art aficionado, 25 September 2021 is the date to diarise. 

If you missed out on the first Evoking Art Festival, be sure not to make the same mistake.

Off the back of its debut in April this year, the festival has now expanded to involve an exhibition of up to 80 contemporary artworks by 40 established and edgy young artists from across the country. It wouldn't be the Evoking Art Experience that we have come to love without poetry readings, live music, and an art auction. 

The second Evoking Art Festival 2021 will once again take place at the Timberlake Organic Village in Wilderness.

Evoking is the brainchild of Garden Route creatives Ingrid Nuss and Shaun.Galolo, who saw an opportunity to provide a platform for young creatives in the area, and their previous success has now attracted talent nationally. 

Nuss, an established artist, describes the Garden Route as a creative hub "bursting with artistic potential". "I love spotting raw talent," she explains, "and the Evoking Art Festival was born as a stepping stone to help young artists break into the contemporary art world."

Shaun.Galalo, having spent many years touring internationally as a musician, says the Garden Route is primed and ready to become the creative capital of the country. "And we are here to make that dream a reality."

For the second edition of this creative duo's successful exhibition, Nuss curated the exhibition around the theme of Cultural Heritage to coincide with Heritage Day long weekend celebrations. She selected young artists with a strong visual aesthetic who display innovation. She specifically chose to exhibit artists in their 20s and 30s who have a fresh perspective. 

"These artists are at that crucial point when they are at their most energised, excited, and brave. This energy translates into the Evoking experience. Viewers will look at this collection and be impressed with and proud of our collective cultural heritage."

Each of the 40 artists in the Evoking collection has their own unique style or medium and most of the artwork is yet unseen.

Exhibition highlights

Evoking 1 proved to be very successful for art collectors and artists alike. The standard of the work was high, and the exhibition was well curated. Many of the contributing artists were invited to exhibit new works again, following the theme of Cultural Heritage, and will be producing new works.

Interest has grown and artists as far afield as Johannesburg will be contributing to Evoking 2. Everyone falls in love with Jenn Hull's incredibly quirky African-Robotic-tribal sculpted characters the moment they lay eyes on them. Keegan Erickson from Plettenberg Bay does meticulous collage and mark-making work, which borders on the edge of insanity, but in a good way.

Marti Lund is one on Cape Town's most well-known artists within the circles of street and fine art alike, and will be making artworks exclusively for Evoking. Durbanite Jeff Rankin's expertise is printmaking and his subject matter touches on controversial political issues with a sense of humour.

In anticipation of Evoking Art 2, a group of artists created a chalk art mural at Vic Bay bridge, timing it to coincide with the SA Masters Championship surfing competition last weekend.

Auction highlights

The Evoking 1 auction was a roaring success with some bidding wars that brought a lot of excitement. A number of artworks have been selected exclusively for the second auction which will start at well below their estimated retail price. The auctioneer is Adriaan Barnard and bidding on several artworks will start at only R20.

Affordable art

One of the main aims of the Evoking Art Festival is to connect fresh talent with buyers - a hotspot to find rising stars and snap up a future investment. Evoking places strong emphasis on affordable art with prices starting at R200.

In anticipation of Evoking Art 2, artists created a chalk art mural at Vic Bay bridge, timing it to coincide with the SA Masters Championship surfing competition last weekend.

Festival details

The festival kicks off at 12 noon, with the exhibition opening at 16:00, followed by live music gigs by impressive headline acts like Cape Town's beloved Nomadic Orchestra, Groove Missionaries and a packed local line-up such as Daytura, Electric Spinach, Shaun.Galolo and Chris Auret. Poetry readings and an auction of select pieces will follow at 17:30. 

A diverse menu is available at Zucchini Restaurant and you can enjoy coffee, cake and light meals from Pause Coffee Roastery. Kids love the open-air play areas and jungle gym.

More information is available at www.evoking.co.za.

One of the main aims of the Evoking Art Festival is to connect fresh talent with buyers - a hotspot to find rising stars and snap up a future investment.

'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'