SA’s leading arts festivals have joined forces with the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) and the Jobs Fund to invest R20m into fostering a sustainable future for artistic collaboration in the creative industry.
The Festival Enterprise Catalyst (FEC) project, announced at Teksmark in Cape Town on Friday, is a collective initiative by the National Arts Festival, Nasionale Afrikaanse Teater-inisiatief (NATi), Concerts SA, Woordfees, Aardklop, Suidooster Fees, KKNK and the Tribuo Fund, whose joint commitment of R10m will be matched by the Jobs Fund.
The R20m will be invested over two years to create, present, support and tour works across the country through the festival network.
“This is an important moment for the arts industry,” National Arts Festival CEO Monica Newton said.
“By working together, we can create a more vibrant and sustainable ecosystem that benefits artists and audiences alike.”
The FEC does not have its own application process, but entry is through the various individual festival application processes, eligible shows will be shared for consideration among the partners.
Applications for the NAF 2025 programme are now open.
The head of CSI at Samro, Lesego Mafora, said their work — which was underpinned by extensive research — had proven that providing consistent, sustainable work directly benefited the industry.
By fostering collaboration, the FEC will create a sustainable circuit for artists and stimulate job creation within the creative sector.
By investing in new work and supporting existing productions, the project seeks to provide artists, technicians and creatives with consistent income opportunities and stimulate further exposure by working collectively to bring international producers to South African festivals.
The FEC will support works in all disciplines and languages, ensuring a diverse range of creative expressions.
Andre le Roux, speaking on behalf of the Concerts SA project, highlighted the importance of the creative sector for night-time economies.
“Across the world, places with vibrant cultural scenes are places that people want to live in and visit, so the value of this initiative is not only for creatives but also for the broader economy.”
KKNK chair Crispin Sonn said: “This is a fantastic occasion to bring the arts into where I think the country is, this space where we focus on creating dignified futures for young people through employment in a meaningful, structured way.”
Award-winning interdisciplinary artist, curator, dramaturge and academic Gavin Krastin, 36, from Makhanda, has travelled extensively through the festival circuit and recently launched a book of written experiences from performance artists who participated in Live Art Arcade, a nomadic performance art exhibition started in 2018.
Krastin welcomed the FEC project as a positive step for the industry, which often saw its peers competing against one another for already limited funding.
“Collaboration is key as resources in SA — whether its funding, spaces, time or audienceship — are quite limited, despite there being quite a large and vibrant arts scene in the country,” he said.
“You see a lot of festivals, artistic directors, organisations and artists fighting over the same cake.
“I think collaboration tries to find a sense of synergy where one can share as opposed to fight against one another.
“I think it’s difficult as well because in the various sub-disciplines, a lot of us are friends and peers who we care deeply about and are often pitted against one another.
“So you often compete against your friends where, in fact, you want synergy and collaboration with your peers and mentors.
“There is an African proverb that says if you want to go fast, you go alone but if you want to go far, you go together.
“I think collaboration speaks to a sense of longevity and further dissemination of work.”
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