If you want to build a brighter tomorrow for South African art, you need to see the greatness in the artists of today.

At Standard Bank, we believe that when you look a little beyond the surface, you realise that there’s potential for greatness in every artist from every walk of life. This is why at every National Arts Festival, we make it a mission to recognise some of the most promising young talents on the annual Fringe Stage.

After a COVID-19-interrupted two years, the National Arts Festival will be welcoming live audiences to Makhanda for the first time since 2019 for what promises to be a special edition of Africa’s biggest multi-arts festival.

All eyes will be on the Fringe Stage where some of South Africa’s brightest up-and-coming artists will be giving audiences a glimpse into the future of the country’s art. As a bank that’s been supporting South African art for decades, we’re ready to show once again that we don’t just see budding talent – we see greatness.

This is why we’re excited to be honouring some of this year’s top productions on the Fringe Stage through the Standard Bank Ovation Awards. We will hand-pick a number of Fringe artists from the 11-day #NAF2022 programme and award them with one of the most prestigious prizes for young artists in the country.

For the past 12 years, the Standard Bank Ovation Awards have given us the opportunity to crown the next generation of artistic excellence from the National Arts Festival Fringe. Previous winners, including the likes of Standard Bank Young Artist, Kristi-Leigh Gresse, have gone on to enjoy illustrious careers in the arts following wins at the Ovation Awards. In a few years, we’ll all be talking about one of the artists who took our breath away on the Fringe Stage at the National Art Festival 2022.

History is made when you see the greatness today.