The BASA Awards are not your average arts celebration. Now in their 24th year, Business and Arts South Africa has continued to show the tremendous work that has come to life through strong and essential collaborations.
On Monday evening, the official ceremony took place virtually for the second consecutive year.
The winners were honoured with limited edition Imiso Ceramics trophies from internationally acclaimed clay storytellers, Zizipho Poswa and Andile Dyalvane. Every year the BASA Awards commissions an artist, collective or studio to create distinctive and original works as trophies which are given to the winners.
This year’s Awards theme RISE was both a celebration and a call to action.
“Inspired by the great Maya Angelou poem Still I Rise, we felt it was important to acknowledge, augment and amplify the resilience of the arts sector and the business partnerships that have helped them endure; a quality that is reflected in the reimagining of content and context found in the projects and very determination of the projects chosen,” said BASA chief executive Ashraf Johaardien.
The seven awards categories specifically honour partnerships, namely Community Development Award, SMME Award, First-Time Sponsor Award, Sponsorship In-Kind Award, Innovation Award, Long-Term Partnership Award and Beyond Borders Partnership Award.
These awards recognise support for arts and culture, support given to the arts by enterprises, innovative partnerships, initiatives and brand building efforts.
BASA was founded in 1997 as a joint initiative between government and the private sector as part of a strategy to secure greater involvement in the arts and from businesses operating in South Africa. BASA champions business investment within the arts, cultural and heritage sector, driving focused and sustained partnerships by unlocking shared value and fostering social cohesion.
“BASA and Hollard celebrate the synergy that comes from deep collaboration, with the right partners. Cultural and creative industries currently provide jobs worldwide and employ more people between the ages of 15 and 29 than any other sector. In 2020, the year 2021 was declared the international year of creative economy and youth development. The performance of the arts are not for mere entertainment. They often have a specific role within an event or a complex of events organised for a specific occasion. In our case the arts are the mirror that reflects the complex processes of nation building, social cohesion and transformation projects of our country,” said Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa.
Heidi Brauer, chief marketing officer at Hollard, said the awards celebrated both the winners and the finalists.
“In a time like this it is really hard to dig deep and to put your work up for reflection and review by a panel of judges. It’s hard at any time but in this last year you have found ways to bring the arts and business partnerships together, to bring them to life with so many constraints has really been a challenge,” said Brauer.
She said Hollard’s purpose was to enable more people to create and secure a better future.
“Business and Arts partnerships, by virtue of their collaboration, do the same thing. They amplify people’s work and help people to rise. We have lots to rise above this year. As we sit here facing hopefully what will be a post-pandemic phase and some stability in this country, we have the opportunity to come together - sing, create, story tell - to make the magic that will help us rise beyond where we are now and into a better future.”
Winners:
- The Beyond Borders Partnership Award - Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and African Artists for Development (AAD), for Lumieres d'Afriques
- The Community Development Award - Rand Merchant Bank, a division of FirstRand Ltd, and Outreach Foundation, for Letters to You and Me - an intergenerational project
- The First-Time Sponsor Award - Sirdar and Artist Proof Studio, for The Lockdown Collection
- The Innovation Award - MTN SA Foundation and UJ Art Gallery, for UJ’s Moving Cube breaks ground with MTN’s Blind Alphabet
- The Long-Term Partnership Award Nando's and Spier Arts Trust, for the Nando’s Creative Exchange
- The SMME Award - MRS WOOLF and Artist Proof Studio, for The Lockdown Collection
- The Sponsorship In-Kind Award - Royal Hotel Riebeek Kasteel and Arts Town Riebeek Valley, for the Royal Arts Town Amphitheatre Summer Theatre Season
Sunday Independent