by Khaya Thonjeni
The National Arts Festival's daily newspaper, CUE, run in partnership with Rhodes University's Department of Journalism and Media Studies, has been given financial support by Business and Arts South Africa (BASA).
BASA announced last week they would be contributing R200 000 to the sponsorship pool for this year's Festival, being held from 2-11 July in Grahamstown. The sponsorship would be put towards two projects that benefit the Festival's Fringe artists, namely the CUE fringe supplement and the Hands On! Masks Off! programme.
CUE editor Brian Garman said the main aim of the supplement was to give under-resourced Fringe performers "a visible and viable platform for exposure". The supplement would run to between 10 and 12 pages daily and include general news, photography, reviews and feature content. In addition, said Garman, the "quality, high-resolution" photographs taken by CUEPIX photographers would be made accessible to Fringe performers to use for promotional purposes.
National Arts Festival CEO Tony Lankester said the partnership with BASA "strengthens our commitment to ensuring we provide a festival of excellence".