Winner — Company Partnership (Inaugural award): Absa and the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees
Every year thousands of art lovers descend on the town of Oudtshoorn for the annual Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK). With more than 200 productions, 1Â 000 shows and 135Â 000 tickets sold, there is no doubt that the mainly Afrikaans arts festival is one of South Africa’s most beloved cultural events. Visitors delight in the festive atmosphere, the quality productions and the sometimes quirky, true-blue South African food on offer at the stalls.
Everywhere in town a certain hue of red on a telltale logo can be spotted, representing the financial muscle behind the festival — Absa. After four years of successful sponsorship, the bank made a decision two years ago to become the headline sponsor of the festival. Over a period of five years until 2010, the bank will invest R19,4-million in the festival.
“This is Absa’s key platform for showing its support for arts and culture in South Africa,” says George Knoke, public relations manager at Absa. “This is a joint commitment to encourage the affirmation and celebration of a unique, developing South African culture that reflects the identity of a growing nation.” Last year the name of the festival also officially changed to the Absa KKNK.
The festival statistics would please any bank manager concerned about credit rating. Last year 240Â 000 visitors attended during the eight-day period. Turnover exceeded R22-billion, and every year the festival grows bigger and better.
Its economic reach into the local community is enormous. Organisers say the KKNK generates about R56-million for the local economy.
The partnership between the KKNK and Absa is the first winner of the Investing in the Future’s Company Partnership Award. The judges said the partnership was an excellent contribution to the arts in South Africa. “The KKNK Festival has entrenched itself as a substantial arts events on the cultural calendar,” they said. “It is to be applauded, as is Absa’s stepping up to the plate with its ongoing sponsorship until 2010. The project has broadened its scope, especially with regard to inclusivity with relation to who is defined as an Afrikaans speaker. But it also has appeal beyond the language barriers.
“This project sets an example to other corporations to continue their support of the arts,” they concluded.
“Although the Absa KKNK is a predominantly Afrikaans festival, it reaches out to all South Africans and celebrates the arts as a means of uniting people and transcending culturural barriers,” says Steve Booysen, group chief executive. “Everyone is invited to share the magic and to experience the pulsating creativity of some of the country’s most talented artists in the performing and visual arts.”
One of the specific objectives of the sponsorship is to leave a “living legacy” in the Oudtshoorn community through a structured corporate social investment initiative, says Knoke. This is done through the “Absa KKNK op Toer” programme.
Every year towards August or September the Absa KKNK goes on tour, with the support of the Western Cape education department. About 30Â 000 people in the southern Cape and Karoo are treated to an extension of the Oudtshoorn festival with a complementary feast of drama, dance and song. This is especially a treat for the small towns and villages of the region that hunger for quality shows in their neck of the woods.
Town such as Prince Albert, Zoar, Vanwyksdorp, Uniondale and Calitzdorp are all treated to presentations from the touring company. A Xhosa programme is presented in Beaufort West, George, Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn as well.
The tour company visits one community every day over a period of two weeks. The morning programme focuses on schools with features specially created for pre-primary, Grade 6 and 7, and Grade 10 and 11 learners. The pre-schoolers see shows like the Die Avonture van Wilde Willemientjie, while older learners take in shows that concentrate on prescribed works.
Xhosa productions have been popular among community members in the past two touring seasons. Last year a Xhosa play was developed for Grade 12 learners by Artscape in Cape Town.
Almost 7Â 000 learners viewed the preschool productions, 4Â 500 the high school productions and 5Â 500 the Xhosa features last year. The organisers says that altogether more than 25Â 000 people attend.
Another aspect of the sponsorship, the Blue Gum project, is worth R89Â 000 and is aimed at skills transfer. Using the non-indigenous invader species, Blue Gum, community members learn new skills within the arts sector, help with water conservation and recycle a natural resource. Blue Gum trees are thirsty trees and consume up to 20Â 000 litres of water a day. In a dry region such as the Karoo, this can be fatal for the economy.
In the desert-like town of Prince Albert five dead Blue Gums were transformed into sculptures for the festival. The trees were carved in line with a policy aimed at training and empowering local community members, and five individuals benefited from the initiative.
“This widened the influence of the festival and increased the profile of Absa from a community job creation point of view, adding another art medium to the Absa KKNK,” says Knoke.
Festival organisers estimate that 42% of Oudtshoorn’s businesses have created additional job opportunities. Most businesses created at least one new job opportunity.