Committed to changing our perceptions, the Centre for Photography looks set to put South African photographers on the map. Steve Smith reports
Being an artist these days is an act of dogged optimism, particularly if you hope to make a living. There is little money available, either for private purchase or from government funding, and we South Africans have never been great art buyers anyway.
Spare a thought then for our photographers. Sitting near the bottom of the art world’s Who’s Who in the Zoo”, this discipline needs a serious marketing makeover if it’s to receive the respect and credit rating it commands overseas.
Help is at hand, though, through an ambitious new initiative called the Centre for Photography. Started by Geoff Grundlingh, senior lecturer in Fine Art Photography at the University of Cape Town, the centre has been formed in response to a growing demand: “For the last two years we have been speaking to as many people as possible about the problems in the industry, and the feedback we have been getting is that it’s mainly a marketing issue.”
Setting about rectifying the situation was always going to be a difficult undertaking however. Eschewing any kind of laidback arty “build it and they will come” approach, the centre has a well worked out game plan at hand.
“In the past we were incredibly disorganised, but we’ve taken a close look at other collectives, particularly sports like rugby and cricket – the way they market, fund and teach their codes.”
As a starting point, the centre has been given three rooms by UCT on its Hiddingh Hall campus to use as office/gallery space. This arrangement suits both the university, which is looking for activities that involve the public more directly, as well as the centre.
“Initially at least, in terms of the practicalities and infrastructure it offers, it makes sense for the organisation to start at a university,” says Grundlingh. Thanks to R185 000 from Kodak USA and a generous amount from the Cape Town City Council, R250 000’s worth of funding has already been procured.
One of the centre’s major initiatives is the Print of the Month club. Specifically focused on raising the public’s awareness of photography as an artform, it’s designed to get South Africans used to the idea of buying photography. Much like a Wine of the Month club, it’s a pretty innovative way of giving exposure to photographs to which we would not usually have access.
“The idea is that the public would become members of the club by subscribing to the programme. We would choose the best South African prints, and distribute them in a portfolio to members,” says Grundlingh.
“The Print Room” is another enterprise -this particular one aimed at giving foreign buyers looking to purchase South African photographs a much wider scope to choose from than perhaps just collections at the National Gallery and Mayibuye. “Say you were a Texan buyer, or a Norwegian collector: Where do you go? We will now have a physical space on Hiddingh Hall campus where the portfolios of every major South African photographer will be kept.” Apart from photographs kept in the Print Room, the centre will also feature a gallery that’ will hold exhibitions on a regular basis.
One particularly important project the centre has lined up is the Month of Photography – a photographic biennale with a Southern African focus to be held in September this year. Like the ones to follow, this inaugural exhibition is aimed at getting photographers from neighbouring regions not only to show their work, but also participate in workshops to exchange practical techniques and cultural ideas.
As Grundlingh points out: “We tend to look toward the United States and Europe, but we live here and need to have an idea what’s happening photographically in say Zimbabwe and Zambia.”
The corporate arena, too, is another area the centre will be targeting: “I believe there are big opportunities for corporates here. No one has aligned themselves with photography and the first one who does is going to do incredibly well down the line. Look at the Museum of Modern Art as an example, they have just purchased a collection of Cindy Sherman’s early works for $1-million.”
So how far down the line are these plans? “Well,” says Grundlingh, “levels of enthusiasm are far ahead of the infrastructure at the moment. There are many areas where we are still a new organisation. Where it goes now really depends on the people who get involved.”