/ 24 July 1998

British Airways’ true colours

Tamar Mason

Right to Reply

Visualise the following scenario: bored and out-of-scandal journalist sits at an airport and notices the only eye- catching tail design on the tarmac.

He takes a closer look. Ah, an unusual sounding name. Further investigation reveals that the artist is none other than a San woman. Immediate conclusion: she’s been ripped off! I mean, are not all San still running around in skins oblivious to the 20th century?

Journalist decides to rescue exploited artist (“For the price of seven cows”, July 17 to 23). Unfortunately the hapless journalist is merely joining the long queue of the misinformed and greedy, who over the centuries have contributed to the marginalisation of indigenous minorities around the world. To set the record straight, I would like to point out the following inaccuracies in the article:

l Cg’ose Ntcox’o knew from before the tails were painted that her image would be used by British Airways (BA). A woman – not a man – from BA spent three days in D’kar explaining the contract to her and how her work would be used. Satisfied with the deal, Ntcox’o signed the contract with her name, not an “X”. As a result of the BA deal, Ntcox’o’s income has quadrupled as her work is now known and sought after.

l The Kuru Development Trust, which represents Ntcox’o, is a respected indigenous people’s organisation run by the San with technical support for the past 15 years.

l Accusing the trust of pocketing half the money is missing the point entirely. The Kuru Art Project, of which Ntcox’o is a member, is annually subsidised with more than R 110 000 by the trust. The trust’s commission is an attempt to wean the project from relying on funding.

l There is no disciplinary committee for project participants at Kuru.

l Benison Makele of the Botswana Guardian says: “There is no doubt she has been robbed.” He fails to add that it is the journalists who are robbing Ntcox’o, not BA or Kuru, as such inaccurate publicity will make people reluctant to buy Ntcox’o’s work.

l The quotes saying that the San live in a pre-cash society and therefore have no need of money are naive fabrications. Kuru representatives are professionals who have worked with marginalised communities in income- generating activities for years. Quotes such as this are akin to stating that Eugene de Kock never killed anyone.

Had the journalist bothered to visit the artists, he would have realised that employment options in the Kalahari for women are confined to craft production, small-scale stock farming, selling liquor and so forth.

Given her background, Ntcox’o’s choices are limited and the fact that she has found a way to make her voice heard internationally should be a cause for celebration rather than attempted scandal.

Corporates are conservative by nature and tend to avoid involvement with and sponsorship of the arts. Irresponsible journalism compounds this.

Properly researched articles are necessary, listing the benefits in order to encourage money to move from the soccer and cricket balls to the paint brushes and pencils of this world.

Tamar Mason works as a skills trainer with rural women and co-ordinated the Kuru Art Project in 1992