You can now buy and sell visual art online at Artify, the Hilton Arts Festival’s online art gallery. 

Buying and selling art at a shop or market is slowly becoming a thing of the past, especially with the Hilton Arts Festival’s online art gallery, Artify.

According to festival director Sue Clarence, Artify is an ideal platform for visual artists of all genres to make their work available to the public.

“Although it is just a few months old, more than 55 artists who have already joined Artify are thrilled with the ease with which the site works, the quality of the art for sale and, most importantly, that there have already been sales,” Clarence says.

Artify sells any style of visual art and any medium, including sculptures, photography, watercolours, oils, pottery, charcoal and acrylic, to name but a few.

“The beauty of selling products online is that your work is exposed to a national and international audience,” says Clarence.

She adds that Artify offers a door-to-door courier service between buyer and seller and there are plans to include sections on pop, graffiti, anime, bespoke craft and contemporary African work.

The Hilton Arts Festival began in 1993 and has grown into one of the leading theatre festivals in the country.

It aims to bring the pick of South African theatre to KwaZulu-Natal and support it with a programme of music, lectures, visual arts and crafts. It also has an increasing lifestyle element as well.

The festival, administered by the Arts Trust of South Africa, attracts about 25,000 people annually.

Hilton College is both the host and a sponsor, and the facilities are made available to the festival free of charge. Proposed dates for 2021 are September10 to September 12. 

• This article first appeared in GCIS’s Vukuzenzele