Step Inside the Field Hospital at Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees

An immersive experience combining art and theatre, Field Hospital / Veldhospitaal is a unique installation at this year’s Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees. Taking place over the span of a week, the space is a living, breathing reflection of the creative spirit and its importance in today’s world. Here’s everything you need to know.

The Field Hospital: A Space for Reflection and Rebirth

A bold new addition to this year’s festival, the Field Hospital / Veldhospitaal invites you into a space where art heals and stories connect. Here, we tend to the inner world — the unseen spaces of heart, mind, and soul.

“Everyone is creative,” says artist and co-director Haidee Nel, whose vision drives this living artwork. “But we live in constant competition, in a world where survival overshadows connection. We’ve lost touch — with ourselves, with each other, with the Earth. The creative spirit is fragile, and it needs care. This is an emergency — for us, for the planet, for all mankind. It’s our connections that will set us free. Libertas.”

The Field Hospital is more than an exhibition — it’s an immersive journey through the landscape of human existence. It’s built from organs, fragments, and abstractions of being, each one represented by an artist, each one a portal to something deeper.

At the Field Hospital, artists invite audiences into spaces of reflection and renewal. Hannah du Plessis creates an installation on vision, offering new ways of seeing; Gert van Tonder’s moss garden becomes a place to release burdens; and Trude Gunther’s confession corner encourages letting go.

Anele Jeanius (Amazing Ace) leads with music, while Maia presents Teething, a raw exploration of growing pains. In Swellendam, crafters contribute delicate crocheted jellyfish for Monet Potgieter and Lilah Nel’s installation, symbolizing the quiet dialogue between heart and mind.

Whether it’s your mind or your soul that leads you here, surrender yourself to the wonders of the body and the miracle of connection. Step inside the Field Hospital. Breathe deeply. Feel what it means to be alive, in touch, and in communion — with yourself, with others, with the world. And join the fifty creatives who are breathing life into this evolving sanctuary.