Van Stadens Flower Festival Adds Outdoor Art Exhibition to South Africa’s Spring Celebration

Artists will take over the reserve’s former nursery for Art in the Arboretum on October 25, combining local creativity with indigenous flora and conservation themes.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The Van Stadens Flower Festival on October 25 will introduce its first Art in the Arboretum exhibition in the reserve’s old nursery area.
• Gqeberha artist Erin Smith has worked with Friends of Van Stadens and the reserve management team on the project.
• Artists will explore ecology, biodiversity and belonging; selected artworks will be available to purchase.
• The festival runs from 07:30 to 14:00 on Sunday, October 25, 2026, with free admission.

A wildflower festival near South Africa’s Gqeberha is adding a new reason to explore its wooded trails this spring: an outdoor exhibition in which local artists interpret the natural environment around them. The inaugural Art in the Arboretum: Under the Trees exhibition is set to open during the Van Stadens Flower Festival on Sunday, October 25, 2026, bringing sculpture and other creative work into a former nursery area at the Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve.

Rather than presenting art in a conventional gallery, the exhibition invites visitors to encounter the work beneath the reserve’s trees. Artists have been asked to respond to themes including biodiversity, ecology, environmental heritage and the idea of belonging to a particular landscape. Selected works will be offered for sale, providing an opportunity for visitors to support local artists.

Gqeberha-based artist Erin Smith, whose practice includes sculpture, site-specific installations and land art, has helped bring the initiative together with Friends of Van Stadens (FOVS) and the Nelson Mandela Bay Reserve Management team. The collaboration is detailed in an official Nelson Mandela Bay tourism announcement.

Nature, art and a spring outing

The festival is scheduled for 07:30 to 14:00 on Sunday, October 25, with free entry to the reserve. Beyond the new exhibition, the annual celebration highlights indigenous plants and the conservation work associated with Van Stadens. The Friends of Van Stadens event information describes the festival’s broader programme as including an indigenous plant sale and activities associated with the reserve, although visitors should consult the organiser’s current programme for the specific activities taking place this year.

Located roughly 35 kilometres from Gqeberha, just off the N2, the reserve protects a meeting point of grassy fynbos and coastal forest. Its trails, plant diversity and accessible outdoor spaces make it a destination for walkers, birdwatchers and visitors interested in the Eastern Cape’s natural heritage, according to information published by Friends of Van Stadens.

The exhibition broadens that experience by encouraging festival-goers to look at the setting through artists’ eyes, linking an outing among indigenous flowers with questions about conservation and the way people relate to their surroundings. For a day visit, organisers recommend taking a detour into the Arboretum to find the installations in the old nursery area.

Visitors can check the Friends of Van Stadens website for the festival programme and practical updates, or explore further destination information through Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism.