Industry Insights from Our Research

In the previous Newsletter edition, we started sharing some interesting insights from our research. For the benefit of our new readers, it is perhaps worthwhile to share with them the reason for our existence. Our key role as the SA Cultural Observatory is to measure and provide reliable statistical information on the economic value of South Africa’s cultural and creative industries (CCIs). This is done with a view to understand the sector’s economic significance and make recommendations on what the country can do to continuously  grow the sector. We achieve this by conducting economic research across the various cultural domains in line with the research agenda. In the current edition, as with the previous one, we focus on a few key highlights from some of our research outputs.

 The Mapping Study 2020

In the last six months our researchers have been hard a work combing through economic data and volumes of information on the sector to understand where the industry is since our last 2018 Mapping Study (a key report that analyses the entire sector, particularly as it relates to its contribution to the SA economy and GDP). We had hoped to share the results of this study in the early days of April. Unfortunately and without advance warning, the Coronavirus pandemic scuppered our plans. We are hopeful that we will be able to share the results of our mapping study not too long from now. Once released, we will share the study with our readers both through our database and on our website, so keep on the lookout for the report. As indicated above, we are conducting a survey to understand the initial impact of COVID-19 on the industry, and will also release this on various platforms, as it is likely to shape our industry for many years to come.