Last week Bloemfontein hosted the 25th edition of the Vrystaat Arts Festival, celebrating creativity and cultural expression.
Performers walk with giant masks on the festival grounds during the Vrystaat Arts Festival on Day 02 on July 16, 2025 in Bloemfontein. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
Also known as the Vrystaat Kunstefees or Tsa-Botjhaba, the event is a major annual arts festival that celebrates creativity and cultural expression through a diverse range of artistic experiences, including theatre, music, dance, literature, and visual arts.
The festival aims to foster connections between Afrikaans, English, and Sotho cultures and to support the development of both established and emerging artists.
Photographer Alet Pretorius was there to document the colourful event.
Performers take part in a traditional Afrikaner dance known as Volkspele on Day 03, July 17, 2025. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)Decorations on the festival grounds on Day 02, July 16, 2025. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)A scene from Speenvark, a one-person performance by Tinarie Van Wyk-Loots — part play, part struggling poem — based on, and with apologies to, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as well as Jonker, De Villiers, Malherbe, Totius, Opperman, and Yeats on Day 04, July 17, 2025. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)Street performers on Day 04, July 17, 2025, in Bloemfontein. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)Luna Paige during the Vrystaat Arts Festival on Day 04, July 17, 2025, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)Lian Pool (10) enjoys candy floss during the Vrystaat Arts Festival. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)A scene from Die Doodskis, an absurd comedy directed by Karina Lemmer, featuring actors Wentzel Lombard and Tanja Franzsen. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)A live performance of Anderkant die Donker Vallei, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Valiant Swart’s iconic album Deur die Donker Vallei on Day 04, July 17, 2025. The commemorative concert features original band members Schalk Joubert (bass) and Simon Orange (keyboard), joined by Illimar Neitz (guitar) and Jorik Pienaar (drums), and marks the album’s recent release on vinyl. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)A public performance of Isn’t it just Divine, Ethel?. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)A public performance of Isn’t it just Divine, Ethel?, an interactive mask performance featuring the luminous, masked characters known as the Ethels, on Day 04, July 17, 2025. The work explores themes of presence, play, and human connection through visually striking, otherworldly figures that engage directly with audiences in public spaces. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)A public performance of Isn’t it just Divine, Ethel?, on Day 04, July 17, 2025. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)A scene from In Resonance, a multidisciplinary installation by artists Sibahle Mabaso and Jacobeth Selinga, which blends visual art, performance, and interactive experiences to invite the audience to reflect on their own stories while recognising the universal threads that connect all human beings, on Day 04, July 17. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)Conradie van Heerden and Janco Nel perform in a scene from Om Skoon te Wees, a theatrical production set in a school bathroom and directed by Adriaan Havenga on Day 04, July 17, 2025. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)A scene out of Kruispad of Die legende van die goue vis, featuring Carla Smith, Beer Adriaanse, Edwin van der Walt, and Eben Genis, directed by Marthinus Basson, on Day 03, July 17, 2025, in Bloemfontein. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)People look at an artwork from the University of the Free State (UFS) art collection on Day 03, July 17, 2025. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)A scene out of Dimpho and the Catfish, with Rondo Mpiti-Spies, Mosa Nyelele, Zizipho Nyulu (directed by Jane Mpholo). (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)Traditional Afrikaans Volkspele performers crack whips during the Vrystaat Arts Festival. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
