News Listing

Earlier in September, Stats SA released the GDP figures for the second quarter of the year showing severe economic contraction. The GDP fell by just over 16%. The fall is largely attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic. In all probabilities, no sector of our economy has been spared.

I don't have the grounds to say anything, give any advice or even motivate artists, after all I am just a mere consumer of the arts, I don’t have a single streak of creativity in my bone, I don’t even know what it takes to become an artist.

This heritage month I choose to reflect on what Bishop Andile Mbete calls the inheritance of a good name. amaXhosa call that “ilifa legama elihle.” I want to suggest that in South Africa we have an inheritance of a good name.

Invitation to an online discussion group on the repatriation of African (especially South African) museum artefacts

The South African Cultural Observatory is conducting a short online survey on the repatriation of African (especially South African) cultural artefacts currently held in foreign museums.

Statement by Minister Nathi Mthethwa on mitigation plans to minimize the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Sport, Arts and Culture sector.

The debates about the restitution of museum artifacts taken from African countries, mostly during the colonial era, has a long history. However, it was brought to high prominence again recently by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who said, in an address to 800 students in Burkina Faso on 28th of November 2017: “I cannot accept that a large part of cultural heritage from several African countries is in France. There are historical explanations for that, but there are no valid justifications that are durable and unconditional”.

As of March 2020, the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) conducted a survey targeting businesses and freelancers in the cultural and creative industries (CCIs). This survey was undertaken so that the Observatory could ascertain the impact of the measures that were put in place to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

As we all know and have somewhat even become accustomed to it, due to social distancing measures put in place to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, since March 26, we have all not able to travel to any venue to consume any form of arts and culture products. Libraries, archives, museums, films and television productions, theatre and orchestra performances, fashion shows, concert tours, zoos as well as music and arts festivals have all been closed or come to a complete halt. Could this signal a death knell for the sector? The answer has to be a Big No, at least not if we can help it as consumers and key stakeholders of the cultural and creative industries.

Young Creatives in South Africa have heaps of challenges stacked up against them. Their reality is like that of many youth and people whose livelihoods depend on informal labour practises and gig work. Nothing makes this more evident than the effects of Covid-19 on life as we know it. However it is through their infinite potential, innovative capabilities and resilience that the country is endowed with the means to solve the complex problems in the ever-uncertain present and towards a Fourth Industrial future.

In many countries, the growing importance of the cultural and creative industries is increasingly being recognised. The SA Cultural Observatory recently released its second Economic Mapping of the Cultural and Creative Industries in South Africa 2020 (Economic Mapping Study).

World over, sport is recognised by many societies and governments as a major contributor to economic and social development. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected sports of all types across the world and is likely to have a major negative impact.