Hazel Friedman
IN a marriage brokered in the corridors of corporate-cultural heaven, South Africa’s business community has finally tied the knot with the arts. And the union has the official blessing of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki. On February 3, Business Arts South Africa (Basa) will be launched by Mbeki – who will serve as patron – at a glittering ceremony at the Presidential Guest House.
Modelled on similar partnerships overseas, Basa aims to help “create a professional cultural environment”, while enhancing its own image in the spirit of enlightened self-interest. In previous decades, South African corporations regarded art primarily as office adornment; today, alliances of the corporate-cultural kind are becoming an integral component of modern life. This is partly because contemporary cultural identity now includes the belief that art and artists cannot function without the aid and guidance of an organisation or institution in the role of cultural engineer.
And as the millennium draws to a close, corporations worldwide are expanding their role in cultural upliftment to recognise arts’ importance within the broader social arena. In short, art is being seen as an important sector of the economy and an important source of job creation and economic growth.
It is, therefore, inevitable that the government should perceive itself as a broker of sorts in the marriage between art and business. And while the details of the Basa union and the hows and whys of its future actions are fuzzy at this early stage, as a representative for the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology points out: “The era of the arts as simply an arena for charitable donations is over. There are increasingly sound business reasons for the arts and business to enjoy a mutually benefical partnership”.
* Companies interested in joining Basa should contact Joan de Villiers at the office of Carol Steinberg, Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. Tel (012) 314-6125/314-6283 or fax (012) 323- 0165,