A noticeable trend in the recent BASA Supporting Grants rounds is the growth of projects that are applying for a second or third grant, with more new sponsors on board than when they initially approached the scheme.
“We are definitely noticing how a BASA Supporting Grant can encourage other businesses to come on board to support ongoing projects, ” comments Mandisa Tshiqi, BASA’s Business Services Officer.
“We’re also seeing how projects benefit from ensuring that their Report Backs and supporting documentation are returned on time, following the use of their grant.”
Included in the final round of BASA Supporting Grants 2015/2016 cycle is the 13th SAJE Jazz Conference, a project of the South African Association for Jazz Education (SAJE). This three-day festival will take place in March under the theme South African Jazz – Shaping the Future and is supported by the SAMRO Foundation.
Another recipient is the Puku Story Festival, which takes place in Grahamstown and is a project of the Puku Children's Literature Foundation. The festival - which this year focused on current debates about decolonising the literary landscape - was sponsored by The Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA). REDISA was the winner of the First Time Sponsor category at last year’s BASA Awards for its 2015 partnership with the festival.
Among the projects supported is The Five Lives of Walter Battiss Exhibition - a major exhibition of the work of well-known South African artist, Walter Battiss, that will be accompanied by the production of a substantial catalogue. Set to take place at the Wits Art Museum in July, the application was made by WAM together with sponsor, the Ampersand Foundation.
A number of new projects received grants in this round – among them Gender Equality Murals, a project of On the Beat Communications which was previously awarded a BASA Supporting Grant for its 2015 project Turning 16 days into 365 days. The project aims to photographically capture how the public interacts with the gender equality murals in Gauteng and use the images for an exhibition to open dialogue and public conversations. K-Lo Ink Media Productions is sponsoring photographic equipment and the BASA Supporting Grant will be used for Marketing and PR activities around the exhibition. Another new project in this round is That Art Fair - an initiative of Art Africa magazine taking place mid-February in Cape Town. Sponsored by Omnigro (Pty) Ltd and Manic Enterprises (Pty) Ltd, the fair aimed to give emerging and established African artists a professional space to exhibit in, outside commercial galleries.
Business and Arts South Africa’s (NPC) Supporting Grant programme is designed for arts organisations and businesses to assist in activating sponsorship for a cross-section of arts projects in different regions of the country. This is done by providing financial support to a project that is in an already existing relationship between a business and arts organisation.
To apply for a BASA Supporting Grant, both the arts applicant and the sponsor must complete the application forms, which are designed to encourage the two partners to work together and identify areas of potential benefit. BASA allocates funds to the project once it has assessed how the partnership benefits both the sponsor and the recipient.
Upcoming closing dates for 2016 are as follows:
Supporting Grant applications forms are available in English, isiZulu and seSotho. Repeat business sponsors applying for grants are required to be members of Business and Arts South Africa (NPC) The BASA Supporting Grants are made possible through the generous support of the Department of Arts and Culture. For more information and any assistance with your Supporting grant, please contact Tshepo Diseko on az.oc.asab@opehst or 011 447-2295.
Supporting Grant Recipients Cycle 6 of 2015 – 2016
About BASA (NPC):
Business and Arts South Africa (NPC) is an internationally recognised South African development agency with a suite of integrated programmes implemented nationally and internationally. BASA encourages mutually beneficial partnerships between business and the arts, securing the future development of the arts sector in South Africa and contributing to corporate success through Shared Value. Business and Arts South Africa (NPC) was founded in 1997 as a joint initiative of the Department of Arts and Culture and the business sector as a public/private partnership. For more information on Business and Arts South Africa contact us on 011 447 2295 or visit our website: www.basa.co.za.
