Garden Route Centre for the Arts

07/09/2026

The entries are rolling in!

We are so excited to see the creativity coming through for this year’s youth art competition, The False Mirror: See It Your Way.

Young artists aged 5 to 17 are invited to interpret the theme in their own unique way. What do you see? What will you create?

There is still time to register and take part.

Entries close on 18 September 2026.

Winners in each age category will receive one month of art classes at the Garden Route Centre for the Arts, with winning and runner-up artworks exhibited as part of the Plett Arts Festival.

Register now and let your imagination take you beyond the mirror.

Find all the competition details and registration information visit https://gardenroutearts.org/artcompetition.

05/09/2026

A little sneak peek at the surrealist ice creams created by GRCA students for BEYOND REALITY, an exhibition exploring imagination, transformation and the unexpected. Come discover the full collection at the Plett Arts Festival. 🍦✨

📅 Friday, 25 September
⏰ 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
📍 The Lookout Centre | Main Street

04/09/2026

27/08/2026

We are excited to present BEYOND REALITY, a GRCA student exhibition exploring ideas associated with Surrealism.

Through sculpture, painting, drawing and collage, our students have explored how familiar objects and images can be transformed into something unexpected. Inspired by dreams, imagination, unusual combinations, and altered perspectives, the exhibition brings together work created by students of different ages.

The exhibition also features selected works from the GRCA Youth Art Competition, inspired by René Magritte’s The False Mirror (1928).

Join us for the opening night as part of the Twilight Meander.

📍 The Lookout Centre, Main Street
📅 25 August 2026
🕔 5:00–8:00 PM

We look forward to welcoming you and sharing the students’ work as part of this year’s Plett ARTS Festival

23/08/2026

CALL FOR MODELS!

We’re looking for a live model to join an upcoming Figure Drawing workshop. This is a great opportunity to be part of a creative learning environment while helping students strengthen their observational drawing skills and explore the human figure.

This is a paid opportunity.

Interested in modelling for us?
📧 [email protected]
📱 WhatsApp: 076 169 1598

21/08/2026

THE FALSE MIRROR: SEE IT YOUR WAY

Inspired by René Magritte’s The False Mirror, this youth art competition invites young artists aged 5–17 to explore their own interpretation of the iconic image.

What might lie beyond the eye? A dream, a memory, another world, or something entirely unexpected?

All mediums are welcome.

Winners and runners-up across five age categories will be exhibited as part of GRCA’s Beyond Reality exhibition during the Plett Arts Festival. Category winners will also receive one month of art class tuition at the Garden Route Centre of the Arts.

Entries are now open.
Visit www.gardenroutearts.org/artcompetition for registration and full competition details.

21/07/2026

In our Little Creatives multidisciplinary art class, we explored the language of layering: cutting and composing tissue paper into vibrant flat compositions, then transforming them into lanterns where candlelight becomes the final collaborator. What began as paper and scissors became a study in transparency, depth, and glow.

10/07/2026

We spent the afternoon at The Sound Of A Smile Program in Kurland Village teaching the kids about Jean-Michel Basquiat. He taught us to let go of perfection and to use symbols, colours and line to tell stories that might otherwise go untold. We are blown away by the talent of these children 🤯🤩

09/07/2026

Observation is the foundation of artistic practice. At GRCA Sky Studio, students spent the afternoon drawing directly from the landscape, using the sweeping views of the bay, ocean, and mountains to study light, space, proportion, and form. In learning to look more closely, they discovered that every drawing begins long before the pencil touches the paper.

07/07/2026

👁️ Holiday Art Club 👃🏽 Picasso Portraits 👄

Our students explored the portraiture of Pablo Picasso and the principles of Cubism. Using cardboard, oil pastels, and layered facial features, they created expressive portraits that challenged traditional ideas of perspective while celebrating creativity and individuality.