Hazel Friedman
Art is art, media is media and marketing is marketing. These days the three always meet. And on August 10 at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg they will form a multi-media tripartite alliance in the service of cultural development.
The grand occasion is an art auction co- organised by Linda Givon, who owns the Goodman Gallery, and Andries Oliphant, chairman of the Arts and Culture Trust (ACT). Instead of being one of those staid, stale `n tip-toe events frequented by the mink-and-mothball set, this auction is set to be a multi-media extravaganza.
TVstar, son of a famous father and presenter of People of the South Dali Tambo has agreed to open the show. Jazz legend Abdullah Ibrahim has chosen the occasion to launch his latest CD and Hugh Masekela will be blowing his horn.
And virtually every card-carrying member of the who’s who of South African celebritydom – from media moguls to corporate chiefs and political heavyweights – will be present.
Initiated in 1994, ACT was launched with a R1-million capital grant from Nedbank, Sun International and the Department of Arts, Culture , Science and Technology.
With its coffers now at R3-million, ACT’s operational costs are funded by interest generated by the capital. In addition, through the development of its Infinity product, Nedbank is donating a percentage of the income generated from its cheque, cell-phone and credit accounts. The concept behind it is simple: every Nedbank customer is a donor to the arts.
“Every cent donated to ACTis passed on to artists and deserving cultural organisations,” explains Oliphant. “By organising events like this auction, we are trying to circumvent the bureaucracies normally used to channel funds to art.”
But the person largely responsible for setting up this exercise in artistic direct marketing is Givon.
Six months ago she approached some of SouthAfrica’s most renowned artists to donate an artwork for the auction. She now has over eighty pieces by names like Willy Bester, Isolde Krams, Zwelethu Mthethwa, David Koloane, Penny Siopis and Ezrom Legae, to name a few.
“The auction is a test drive for future multi-media events,” explains Givon. “But already it has proven that there is a community of artists crossing all media who truly care about the future of South African culture.”