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…
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…
A people, a movement, a country, a nation that does not respect its youth, does not deserve its future. -OR Tambo On Tuesday 28 July, at 11.00 precisely, Business and Arts South Africa and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) kicked off a lively webinar discussion. Graciously facilitated by Metro FM’s Rorisang Thandekiso,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) is responding to the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing changes to its plans and programmes during a time which has seen artists’ professions and livelihoods severely curtailed. This has included the granting of 122 Artist Relief Grants, aimed at assisting individual artists, freelance creatives and independent…
The first Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK) Virtual Gallery gives art enthusiasts from all over the world the opportunity to engage with the festival’s visual arts exhibitions, says festival artistic director Hugo Theart. The KKNK has built a reputation for its extraordinary visual arts exhibitions over two decades, and this year has encouraged them…
Undiscovered local design talent challenged to showcase their flair The third edition of Nando’s Hot Young Designer Talent Search is under way, this year focused on a design element that has become strikingly relevant in the time of COVID-19 – restaurant waiting benches. Nando’s Hot Young Designer Talent Search initiative opens doors for undiscovered young…
BASA member Same Mdluli places artistic expression firmly in the essential column What better way to pass the endless hours of confinement, than to speak to the current creative movers and shakers? Same Mdluli is an artist, art historian, and writer living in Johannesburg. She holds a PhD in History of Art, an MA in…
Four-strong team of female creatives join forces to launch hub for artistic collaboration and support The Creative co-LAB was intended to officially launch in April 2020 but due to Covid19 lockdowns this was not possible. We have decided to still launch the creative hub online sharing our newly developed website, current community engagement work and…
At a time when physical proximity is not just dissuaded but essentially outlawed, people are reaching for their devices and digging deep into their artistic disciplines to stay connected with their audiences, and the world at large. South African artists are using the opportunities presented by social distancing to develop new kinds of content. How…
“The BASA Awards recognise the impact of creativity powered by collaboration between the right partners,” said Ashraf Johaardien, CEO of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) at the ceremony for 22nd Annual BASA Awards, partnered by Hollard, which was held at Beechwood Gardens in Hyde Park this past weekend…
“The annual BASA Awards are a significant barometer of the success of mutually beneficial and sustainable partnerships between business and the arts,” says Mandie van der Spuy, Deputy Chairperson of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA). Says BASA Head of Marketing, Savannah Feeke, “Partnered by Hollard, the Awards recognise business…
The recipients of the 2020 Standard Bank Young Artist Awards have been announced. They are Jefferson Tshabalala (theatre), Lulu Prudence Mlangeni (dance), Sisonke Xonti (jazz), Nthato Mokgata (music) and Blessing Ngobeni (visual art). The National Arts Festival established the Young Artist Awards in 1981 to acknowledge emerging young South African
An exciting and boundary-pushing programme of youth creativity will be in the spotlight when the National School of the Arts annual Festival of the Arts takes to the stages of the NSA and the Joburg Theatre. The diverse line-up, which is curated with high school learners in mind, includes performances, exhibitions, workshops and installations. Youth…