New arts funding eschews the ‘begging bowl’
THE arts sector in South Africa has changed significantly over the last two decades. There was a time when most arts organisations derived their funding by holding out the “begging bowl” to a broad range of development agencies to support them.
Nowadays, an increasingly large number of arts organisations are forced to move away from the “begging bowl syndrome”.
They are repositioning themselves with an image that portrays a more sensitised approach to how they are managing their organisations.
Successful arts organisations that are able to do this are increasingly finding out that it is possible to make the change without compromising their core business, which is to make good art. A sensitised approach to managing the arts gives both the arts organisation and the artists they serve a better edge in navigating through the complex terrain in which they work.
More arts organisations that are engaging in strategic evaluations and critical planning are finding newer and more exciting ways of sustaining organisations. It is not easy for arts organisations to shed some of the identity load they have been carrying over many years.
Change is a necessity for sustainability. Change does not necessarily mean that arts organisations need to alter the way they make art, but it does require them to rebrand how they position their organisations to audiences, funders and other stakeholders in the sector.
Taglines that once over-emphasised the good artworks produced by arts organisations are now being replaced by the qualitative values that those who invest in the arts can reap. Simply put, organisations now realise that arts enthusiasts are looking for more than just a good seat in a theatre or an invitation to an opening night of an exhibition.
Arts consumers are looking for ways in which an arts organisation profiles itself synonymously with the essential parts of their own personal lifestyle choices and their ideological beliefs.
Arts supporters are looking for arts organisations that have a progressive brand.
Arts supporters want to be part of a tribe where artists and patrons can continue to engage with each other and to be able to leverage each other. Arts patrons are increasingly feeling the need to move away from being ordinary supporters to becoming real stakeholders in an organisation where the partnership can consciously contribute towards growing each other.
Shared values are a clear selling point for growing audience support. For arts organisations to do so successfully, it is up to them to have an ongoing conversation with their many stakeholders to find out where the common ground lies.
Too often, arts organisations are at risk of caring so much for what they do that they forget to engage with what their funders and supporters want them to do.
Arts organisations generally derive their mission statements inspired by a particular need or opportunities that exist in their communities. Those communities are constantly evolving so it is essential for organisations constantly to interrogate whether their mission statements remain relevant and inspiring.
An arts organisation’s mission statement also sets the framework for how an arts organisation will set its values for its operations and for how it will drive its management systems. These two factors are constantly challenged in an evolving society and particularly in one such as ours which is still incredibly politicised and burdened by our political history.
If the values of an organisation are not interrogated by those who work in it, the chances are that the organisation is at greater risk of fouling fall of political criticism. Ultimately, for most organisations this is the single most important factor that will make them lose all integrity despite all the good art that they produce.
An organisation’s personality is determined by more than just the art it showcases. Its brand architecture is anchored often more strongly by its value systems and the ideological principles that it adopts than by its art.
This weekend the Arts and Culture Trust will host its third annual conference which it brings together stakeholders from the arts sector to find exciting and new ways in which organisations can forge ahead.
A unique aspect of this annual conference is that it celebrates best practices and it draws on successful arts leaders to share their success stories with a newer generation of arts organisations who have long ago learnt that the “begging bowl” does not produce much income.
Arts entrepreneurship and progressive arts leadership does!