THE annual BASA Awards, jointly sponsored by Hollard & Business Day, is the only awards ceremony that acknowledges business support of and partnerships in the arts in South Africa.
The BASA Awards recognise and encourage excellence and innovation in the field of business support for the arts. Imaginative, innovative, and cost-effective partnerships between business and the arts are highlighted, demonstrating the potential for synergy, the window of mutual opportunity, and the far reaching benefits for business, for the arts, and for all South Africans.
All award categories encompass all creative mediums and a wide spectrum of partnerships, from small and in-kind, to large-scale or long-term. The awards are judged by an independent panel of judges and the results are audited by Grant Thornton. A specially commissioned work of art is given to the winning sponsor in each Award category.
The event is attended by captains of industry, BASA members, and members of government. Since the inception of the BASA Awards, either the Minister or Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture has been in attendance and given a keynote address.
Each year, the BASA Awards venue is selected based on its socio-cultural importance and the theme of the Awards for that year, relevant to the current socio-political context in South Africa at the time. Examples of previous BASA Awards venues include;Shine Studio, The Constitutional Court Foyer, The Market Theatre, Johannesburg City Hall, the Wits Art Museum, Turbine Hall Newtown, and Hollard’s Villa Arcadia.
The annual BASA Awards, which have seen growth in terms of quantity and diversity of entries, reflect a broadening of BASA’s work.
Entries for the 20th BASA Awards, partnered by Hollard & Business Day, opened on 3 April 2017 and closed on 23 June 2017. With the BASA Awards Finalist event taking place on the 17th August 2017 and the BASA Awards ceremony on the 18th September 2017.
For further information on opportunities and entries for the BASA Awards please email Aviwe Matandela 
aviwe@basa.co.za or call the BASA office on 011-447-2295 any assistance.
Johannesburg, September 3, 2026 - The South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) will share the findings of its "Cultural and Creative Industries Economic Trends over the last 10 years” review report at the Creative Cnergy Policy & Investment Symposium 2026, taking place on Thursday, 03 September 2026 at AlexForbes, Sandton, in a fireside chat with Prof. Pitika Ntuli.
CaribbeanTales Media Group has entered a new partnership between the Cross Continental Forum (CCF) and the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO), as CCF expands into a year-long international lab connecting Black and Global Majority producers across Africa, the Caribbean, Canada, the UK, Europe, and the wider diaspora.
June 16, 1976, will forever be remembered for the courageous actions taken by the youth to confront the injustice of Apartheid. The students of Soweto took to the streets to protest the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction, and their bravery ignited a fire that would eventually help dismantle an oppressive regime.
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