A challenge to young African artists to ‘Act their Art’

In partnership with the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA), Absa officially opened applications for the 2021 Absa L’Atelier art competition, inviting young artists from across the continent to enter. Since its inception 35 years ago, the Absa L’Atelier has showcased and continues to invest in some of the finest young artists…

Leading with impact

In this BASA Awards’ podcast, Samm Marshall speaks to BASA Board Chairman Charmaine Soobramoney and Hollard Group Sponsorship and Industry Relationships Manager Nikki Belford. They talk about their personal approaches to leadership, as well as how that applies to the South African landscape. Amplifying freedom of thought and skills application will invariably yield a complement…

MRS + MR Luke Making Their Mark

The theme of this year’s 23rd annual BASA Awards is INDELIBLE, accompanied by the hashtag: #MakeYourMark. “It is both a celebration and a call to action,” explains BASA Head of Marketing, Savannah Feeke-Fortune. “It’s the reason we commissioned Mrs + Mr Luke to create seven installations at seven secret locations around Johannesburg. Without giving the…

The Indelible Art of Banele Khoza

Visual artist, curator and gallery director Banele Khoza is the featured artist for the 23rd annual Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) Awards partnered by Hollard. Banele Khoza has been commissioned to create the works being presented to the winning partnerships that will be recognised by this year’s BASA Awards. The works, many of them abstract,…

BASA Awards 2020 Q&A

CEO of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), Ashraf Johaardien (AJ) describes the 2020 iteration of the annual BASA Awards partnered by Hollard as, “an integrated online experience available to the public from 19 November 2020.” Sascha Polkey (SP) chatted to him to find out more: SP Ashraf, we’ve known each other for nearly three…

BASA Awards 2020 Finalists Announced

The 23rd Annual BASA Awards, partnered by Hollard, are once again shining a spotlight on indelible business and arts partnerships in seven categories. Every year is a celebration of the power of these collaborations but, as BASA CEO Ashraf Johaardien notes, this year they are more important than ever: “As the country and the world try to…

The Indelible Art

In this episode of our BASA Awards’ podcasts, Samm Marshall speaks to Banele Khoza, the artist commissioned to create this year’s Awards’ trophies. As the star of a number of high-profile exhibitions, 2017 Gerard Sekoto Foundation award winner and winner of the SA Taxi Foundation Art Award, 2020 initially looked to be an equally successful…

BASA Artist Relief Efforts

As South Africa tentatively adjusts to its Level 1 national lockdown, BASA CEO Ashraf Johaardien notes their surprise at the rapidity at which it occurred, with Hollard CMO Heidi Brauer echoing this and applauding South Africans’ collective capacity for care and our gift for embracing change. This sets the tone of the latest episode of…

BASA BoardBank is back

Business and Arts South Africa NPC (BASA) is reintroducing BoardBank, a programme that connects creative organisations with skilled professionals who have the potential to become board members. Through BoardBank, professionals are offered the opportunity to volunteer on the board of a creative organisation, thereby helping make the sector more sustainable through improving corporate governance, while…

Awards in the time of pandemics

When BASA paused to reflect on its 2019 Awards, we as an organisation accepted that things needed to change. Unknown to us, and indeed the entire globe, within a few short months everything would change. This presents the question: is there room for improvement when we’ve essentially been evicted from all we once knew?

BASA tribute to Linda Givon

Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) is deeply saddened by the passing of Goodman Gallery founder, Linda Givon. A tenacious advocate for the visual arts and the 2019 recipient of the BASA Awards Arts Champion Award, Ms Givon opened the Goodman Gallery in 1966 and was a loyal supporter of the arts for more than…

BASA appoints two new Directors

On 17 September 2020, Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) online. The proceedings included the election of two new non-executive Directors to the BASA Board. Following a public call for nominations and a rigorous shortlisting process, Unathi Malunga and Makgati Molebatsi were elected by BASA members. With a combination…

Public Call for Nominations: BASA Board

The purpose of this notice is to call for nominations for two Non-Executive Directors, to serve on the Board of Business and Arts South Africa NPC (BASA). The current BASA Board comprises 11 Non-Executive Board Members and one Executive Member, all of whom contribute to the overall success, governance and compliance of the organisation. There…

Mentorship and Funding in Phase 2 of Scale-Up

In June and July 2020, Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) in partnership with Rand merchant Bank (RMB) announced the opening of the applications for their refreshed Scale-Up Alumni Programme. “This iteration of the programme aims to reconnect with alumni, with the specific objective of deepening impact, developing stronger relationships, and equipping participants with the…

First-ever online BASA Awards partnered by Hollard

Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), in partnership with Hollard, is calling for entries for its 2020 Awards. The move to an entirely digital platform for the first time ever this year, sees the event reinvigorated and reimagined. “What hasn’t changed is the commitment of both BASA and Hollard to encourage excellence and innovation in…

#WOMANDLACHALLENGE’s LIVESTREAM LAUNCH

On Sunday 9 August 2020, at 12h00, as our country celebrates Women’s Day, the streets of Maboneng (Sotho for ‘Place of Light’), the art district in the East of Johannesburg’s inner city, will thrum with the sounds and images of Women’s Power during the livestream launch of the global @womandlachallenge on both the @cityofcourage and…

BASA Built on a Legacy of Women

We are living in a time when powerful women have reshaped the business landscape of South Africa’s creative economy. For Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), every day is Women’s Day. According to Head of Marketing and Communications, Savannah Feeke-Fortune, the organisation has been built on the shoulders of a long line of influential women, spanning…

Q&A with Mamela Nyamza

On paper, she is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed choreographer and arts activist. In motion, she is an arts rebel and revolutionary, committed to making dance a vehicle for conveying body politics on all social issues, rather than a simple means of entertainment. Mamela’s ultimate goal is to reach the most remote of South Africa’s areas, unearthing young, raw…

Launch of Debut Programme 2nd Edition

Following a hugely impactful first iteration of the Debut Programme, which was launched by the Honourable Minister Nkosinathi E. Mthethwa of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) in 2017, Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) is calling for applications for the next round of the Programme. Says BASA CEO, Ashraf Johaardien: “Participants will be selected from…

BASA’s 67 grants for Mandela Day

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela spent 67 years fighting for social justice. In honour of his legacy Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) is making 67 Artist Relief Grants for medical assistance available to creatives diagnosed with or hospitalised due to COVID-19. Founded in 1997, BASA is a connector catalyst for businesses and the arts, driving focused…

2021 – celebrating conscious

An open call for exhibition proposals The curator in ways is the imagination that frames the conversation, bringing different voices, distinct palettes into dialogue. As we have been so aware under lockdown,the capacity of the human imagination resides in the relation between things, between beings. We are diminished when we cannot make expressive contact with one another. The…

ACT Development Grants to focus on music

For its second grant cycle of 2020, the Arts and Culture Trust (ACT) is looking for projects with a focus on music, encouraging applications for interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary works that have music as a core component. Applications for Professional Development Programme grants will be accepted until 12 July 2020. ACT, South Africa’s independent arts funding…