Stakeholders come together to support cultural preservation
ROSEBANK – 21 Keyes Art Mile was abuzz with senior stakeholders from the City, Jag and the US mission in attendance of the celebratory signing of the cultural preservation grant.
A nation as creative as South Africa deserves to have every product of creativity or art forms as well as the artists themselves protected and preserved.
Most artists would be glad to know that a grant was recently awarded to Friends of the Johannesburg Art Gallery (Jag) by the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation at Keyes Art Mile in Rosebank. The celebratory signing of the grant was to preserve archival materials of the Federated Union of Black Artists (Fuba).
The charge d’ affaires (responsible for public affairs) of the US Mission to South Africa, Jessye Lapenn said it was because of the profound history and shared interest in the arts of both countries that the event was taking place.
“Together we have shown that support for art strengthens our relationship. In nurturing the creative spirit, one could help set the country free as art defies borderlines of ethnicity, race or gender,” said Lapenn.
She added that Fuba was established in 1978 to support black visual artists and other creatives and Jag’s Fuba archive represents a significant contribution to the centre’s legacy and is of cultural significance to the whole of South Africa.
Founder of Friends of Jag, Marianne Fassler said they depend on annual contributions from members or ‘friends’ to achieve their goals which include artworks and conducting educational programmes. “The grant awarded to Friends of Jag by the US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation is, therefore, an important step towards ensuring the continued, living presence of this historic archive.”
Fassler urged people to sign up online to become members and friends.
MMC for Community Development Nonhlanhla Sifumba introduced the keynote speaker, Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba, who said the life of a nation does not always revolve around politics and he shared his history of how he became fond of music while growing up. He said that culture was also an integral part of a nation and ‘a nation which neglects culture, neglects its very soul and lacks identification’.
He said, “Artists have more than given us a sense of belonging and most of their talents have been misused to create wealth for the powerful while causing misery for the artists. In South Africa, we owe gratitude to the artists for bringing clear pictures of oppression during those times and through this project the present and coming generations will appreciate the value of artists.”
The mayor said he wanted the love of the art of music to multiply until the City of Johannesburg becomes the City of Music.
Details: Keyes Art Mile www.keyesartmile.co.za
Are you hosting any artistic events or exhibitions? Email details to naidines@caxton.co.za
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