Nathi Mthethwa
In 1990 in a much-quoted discussion document titled “Preparing ourselves for Freedom”, Albie Sachs observed that: “We all know where South Africa is, but we do not yet know what it is.
“Ours is the privileged generation that will make that discovery, if the apertures in our eyes are wide enough. The problem is whether we have sufficient cultural imagination to grasp the rich texture of the free and united South Africa that we have done so much to bring about.”
But Sachs also went further and zoomed into matters of arts and culture.
“What we have to ask ourselves now is whether we have an artistic and cultural vision that corresponds to this current phase in which a new South African nation is emerging. Can we say that we have begun to grasp the full dimensions of the new country and new people that is struggling to give birth to itself, or are we still trapped in the multiple ghettos of the apartheid imagination?”
As we reach the milestone of 22 years of freedom and democracy, indeed we think we know what South Africa is; and our artistic and cultural vision is aligned to the Bill of Rights that entrenches freedom of expression; and of creativity. But we need to ask ourselves whether our vision has been wide-reaching enough and our imagination so profound that we can say with confidence that the rich texture of the free and united South Africa is within our grasp. We need to assess how far we have come in entrenching our freedoms.
While recent incidents of racism seek to hurtle us back into this painful past and attempt to ruffle the very foundations of our freedom, our campaign against racism and our efforts in forging our non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa remain on track.
While this campaign encompasses all sectors of society and is an invitation to action, we are also focusing on different events as spaces for dialogue and interaction.
During the first quarter of this year we embarked upon a series of lectures, dialogues and conversations where individuals and collectives at local level and on the national stage can share experiences and plot the way forward on how to build unity, cohesion and non-racialism. In so doing, we wish to encourage conversations that can contribute to paving the road ahead.
Yet in the last few weeks, there are elements within our society who choose to be strident, rabble-rouse and incite difference. But despite these detractors, we shall continue to locate our words and actions within our historical context and focus on our commonalities and shared citizenship. We shall also continue to learn from our history and our present, and where discontent erupts, we shall analyse the causes and improve how we conduct the business of the nation and our daily lives.
Last week at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, together with musicians we took a pledge to work towards the eradication of racism. We also asked each festivalgoer to sign the pledge which appeals to and activates each individual to “remove all prejudice from their heart and mind, respect the dignity of every individual regardless of race in word and deed, and speak up in situations of prejudice, racism and exploitation of persons”. The pledge also exhorts everyone to stand up in solidarity with the victims and survivors of racism. It is a call to everyone to join the dialogue, to enter local and global conversations, and to do this with patience, understanding and respect.
But events like the jazz festival also go beyond calls for action and are living metaphors of cosmopolitanism, where people of different walks of life, of varied cultural expressions, congregate under the same roof, eager to embrace new sounds and new ways of seeing. In this way they expand our cultural imagination, take us beyond difference and we renew and transform ourselves through art.
One of the highlights of this festival was the performance of the Living Legends, Dorothy Masuka, Abigail Kubeka and Lemmy “Special” Mabaso, whose performances evoked nostalgia, but also took us forward into the future, as different generations of festivalgoers embraced the dynamism of the music and understood how it still speaks to new times.
A new generation in the heart of Cape Town sang to the melodic strains of Meadowlands. This music also brought home the contribution of musicians to the liberation movement. We paid homage to all, who through their talents conscientised the world on our struggle for freedom.
The Living Legends Legacy Programme of the Department of Arts and Culture will continue to bridge the gap between different generations, celebrate our artistic legends and promote cross-pollination.
We are taking this campaign to all the major festivals of our land. The Cape Town International Jazz Festival is funded by the Department of Arts and Culture as one of a number of national flagship events identified by the Mzansi Golden Economy programme; that nurtures job creation, audience and market development.
In supporting cultural events, and especially live music, this programme is in line with global research which shows that the global live music industry, which was worth approximately $26 billion in 2011, is a significant growth point for the music sector and that in South Africa live music is thriving.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers Entertainment Outlook states that the South African live music industry was worth R928 million, based on consumer spending on concert and festival ticket sales and merchandise, in 2012.
In 2015/16 the Arts and Culture Department has supported over 100 cultural events creating income-generating opportunities for artists and technicians, but also contributing to local and regional economies where, especially in the case of larger events, visitors to the events from outside the area create new income-generation opportunities for the local economy. In the 2016/17 financial year, the Department of Arts and Culture, in partnership with provinces and other sponsors, will support 27 national and regional flagships across all provinces.
Together with other departments, we shall continue to increase spaces for local content, but also for an increased local content quota. Through our current review of the White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage, we are reshaping and refining the arts landscape for the years ahead.
In this way as we look ahead at our celebration of Freedom Day later this month, let us recognise the creativity of our people and the freeing of the cultural imagination former Justice Sachs so eloquently described. After all, it is through cultural production and the creative economy of this nation that we can unite, as this takes us into a new day and casts us in a new light.
l Mthethwa is the Minister of Arts and Culture