When for far too long we have attributed the term “artist” to an individual or organisation that holds a paintbrush in one hand and a begging bowl in the other hand, is it possible to associate the term “artist” with the now much brandished about term “economic development”?

The responsibility rests with artists to change this kind of negative perception that impedes the work of the arts sector from being associated with economic development.

Artists are as important to the economy as any other kind of entrepreneur. In as much as entrepreneurs create new ideas, new materials, new products and new experiences, the core business of the artist is also to create new ideas, trends, materials, products and experiences. Creativity and innovation is the cornerstone on which an economy is grown.

However, there is a significant difference in the way that artists and entrepreneurs set about their businesses. Entrepreneurs work incredibly hard to sell their ideas, materials, products and experiences. Artists on the other hand fall into two major groups. A majority of artists reside inside a trap of entitlement where they expect that everyone should pay and applaud their ideas, materials and productions regardless of whether it is marketed well or packaged effectively. Another significantly large majority are incredibly skilled and passionate about their work but they have never been equipped with the skills on how to market their creativity. A very small group of artists are able to combine their skills and passion with a smart entrepreneurial spirit and which enables them to successfully work in the creative industry.

In almost every major city in South Africa there are buildings such as museums, galleries, theatres and music halls which have been designed by creative people and which are supposed to be administered by people who should be passionate about the arts. Yet, we find that whilst the creative people who have designed these museums, galleries, theatres, music halls and dance venues; and those who are employed to manage them become wealthy, the unfortunate reality is that those who are engaged inside of these buildings to work creatively and to sell their creativity remain hopelessly poor.

How much of this can be attributed to the fact that the artists have often define themselves in the ways which serve to entrench their un-employability and their positions of poverty? Take a walk down Commissioner Street in Johannesburg and ask any entrepreneur what he or she does. The answer will be clear and unambiguous. “I am a banker” or “I sell insurance” or “I am a lawyer”, “Here is my business card”.

Conversely, walk around the Newtown precinct and ask any artist what work he or she does and you are likely to receive an answer such as, “Eish! I am an artist. Sometimes, I sing. Sometimes, I dance. Sometimes, I act. But eish! It’s tough so I try to do anything.”
Often, the “I can do anything” doesn’t reinforce the versatility of the artist. In fact, the message that it conveys is that the artist is a Jack of all trades and a master of none. In an environment where there is a shortage of resources for the making of art; and where there is a competition for the limited resources, the artist can no longer afford to be complacent about his or her career.
In a competitive environment and in one where the livelihood of the artist is not guaranteed or protected by legislation or regulation, it is essential for the artist to be a master of his skill and his craft. The artist has to be a skilful entrepreneur who is able to advance his skill all the time into constantly changing markets. Like any other career person, the artist too must be able to confidently assert that his work makes a valuable contribution to the growth of the economy and to development of who we are as a nation.

The character of our cities is significantly defined by the extent of art and cultural activities that are presented in those cities. Artist must learn to claim ownership of their cities. They must constantly and confidently point out to everyone that the city is what it is because of the work of its artists. As artists and those us who us who work in sectors which support the arts, we must always be knowledgeable and be able to confidently talk to anyone and everyone about our theatres, music halls and museums.

It is frustratingly too often that artists don’t know anything about the arts institutions in their city or about the programmes that are being executed in these institutions. Artists who want to be enterprising must have an inquiring mind and a conquering spirit. They must keep their ear on the grounds. They must be at the centre of conversations and debates about their industry. They must learn to network. They must engage with different groups of people. They must protest their grievances loudly and unambiguously. They must be unafraid to define their positions on a broad range of issues. They must be objective and they must not pander to political popularity or to political favouritism.

When incidents like the Ras Dumisane fiasco happen, artists must have the courage to say that our public officials have “fucked up” the credibility of South Africa’s artists. When artists like Jazz-Art and the others who performed at the FIFA Draw and marvelled our audiences with their professionalism, we must be honourable and acknowledge that our artists have made us feel proud. Likewise, we must also have the integrity to give credit to the organisers of the event for showcasing the best of South Africa’s creative talents. We must be supportive of those who work to promote the arts but at the same time, we must also be critical of those whose efforts are counter-productive for the growth of the South African arts sector.

Artists who are enterprising work hard at knowing their audiences. Artists spend far too much time trying to find “funders” rather than trying to build their audiences. Many artists work incredibly hard at trying to secure funding but when they do get funding, they refuse to work as hard to secure their audiences and their markets. Funding can dry up but loyal audiences that have been grown and nurtured will remain to the work of the artist.

The artists with an entrepreneurial spirit will ensure that his voice is always heard. The voice of the enterprising artist will find its own way of reaching local councillors, local newspaper editors and community radio stations. On each of these platforms the enterprising artist must hold high the flag that proclaims that the arts contribute to the vitalisation of our cities and to the promotion of tourism to our cities.

In Johannesburg, the Constitution Court in Johannesburg is a remarkable example of why tourists travel to downtown Johannesburg. They come there to admire and to experience the artwork that is so embedded in the architecture and design of the building. Former Justice Albie Sachs and his team ensured that the work of South Africa’s artists remains embedded in the Constitution Court as a magnificent testimony of our historical, political and cultural legacy. Yet, very few artists continue to organise themselves in ways which can take advantage of how the Constitution Court has raised the profile of South African artists as having played a part in writing the country’s legacy; and furthermore to the regeneration of the inner-city of Johannesburg?

There is also a significant lesson for all of us to learn from what visitors and tourists find at the Constitution Court. A visit to the Court offers its visitors more than just a cultural product. It offers them an experience. Trends in tourism strongly demonstrate that tourists are more ready to spend their money on “experiences” rather than products. Yet when one looks at the way arts organisations plan their programming, one will notice that the majority of arts organisations continue to put all their energy into the making of productions rather than the selling of artistic and cultural experiences.

Audiences experience the arts on different levels: intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially. Therefore in an attempt to advance the creative industries we all need to sharpen our focus on how we begin to sell good products alongside with good experiences. Towards developing a successful creative industry, we must engage our audiences at all these different levels. The success of the creative industries will depend on our ability to sell “unique and memorable experiences” in as much as we sell good productions and good crafts.

During my visits to Johannesburg, I look forward to visiting the Liberty Theatre on the Square because apart from each visit offering me an entertaining and skilfully staged production, the ambience of the theatre and the warmth and friendliness of all its staff — from coffee bar to senior management — offers me a completely “unique and memorable experience”. The theatre’s combination of good creativity, relaxing ambience and professional engagement with its patrons is the kind of experience that is guaranteed to want to make its patrons come back again and again and again.

In the current adverse economic climate, the creative industries must be able to provide our audiences with satisfaction not only in emotional terms, but also in economic terms. Work that we present must be of a high quality and it must be affordable for our audiences so that they are able to spend their disposable income on it.

The arts thrive when it is married to good business practices and creative entrepreneurship. The challenge is up to all of us to ensure that we are able to access and grow bigger markets by profiling South African artists as skilled professionals. There must be no place in the South African creative industries for the artist who wants to be the Jack of all trades and the master of none.

Today, some of you will be graduating from the Cultural Development Trust’s MAPP SETA Learnership Certificate for Arts Administration and Arts Management. You will be taking with you certain skills that will enable you to move to the forefront of creative entrepreneurship. The challenge is on you to take these skills that you have learnt and to utilise it strategically to build the economic sustainability of your organisation. With your newly acquired skills, you must be able to challenge and change the negative perception that the artist is an individual who holds creativity in one hand and the begging bowl in the other hand.

When you walk out of this door with your certificate in your hand, you must start your journey to seek out a wide range of possible partners who have the right tools to help you to grow in your career. You must surround yourself with those who share your vision and who can work together with you to accomplish your goals. You must partner with those who are equally passionate about working in the creative industries and who can update you with market related information that will enable you to stay in the forefront of your game plan. You must seek out those will be interested in making a direct investments to advance your vision. In everything that you do, you must have a clear and well-grounded economic plan.

At the same time, you must be wary of those who are standing on the sidelines waiting to see you fail. You must always be one step ahead of them in whatever you plan. You will find that there are many people in this industry who are unadventurous in their spirit. They will try to frustrate you with their negativity. You must give them a patient ear but your passion to be adventurous and enterprising must always prove that your business plan will take you on a journey that will even astound them.

Don’t for one moment believe that in our economically competitive environment that you can thrive on creativity alone. You must begin to demand that every artist must acquire basic business skills. Even funding agencies require that artists equip themselves with financial expertise so that their funding risks can be reduced.

The arts is a business. The way in which you make, package, promote and sell your creativity will ensure that the arts earn a reputable position in our economy.

The arts is a business. And you must be the creative entrepreneur or the enterprising creative.

The arts is a business. You can like that statement or you can hate it … but when you are pressured to pay the mortgage and the bills, it will dawn on you that an artist with a packed wallet in his hand earns more respect and attention than the passionate artist who holds a begging bowl in the hand.

South Africa is not short of successful role models who work in the creative industries and who are able to combine their passion for the arts with their remarkable smart business skills. There’s Mannie Manim, Peter Toerien, Peter Tladi, Richard Loring, Dali Tambo, Daphne Kuhn, Deon Opperman and an incredibly successful young Black woman, Princess Zinzi Mhlongo who runs her new theatre company, Tick Tock Productions.

Congratulations to the Cultural Development Trust for having the vision to invest and to build the administrative, management and entrepreneurial skills of South African practitioners for the creative industries. Congratulations to the Department of Arts and Culture for having the vision to fund such an initiative. Most of all, congratulations to the graduating students who will be taking forward their creativity, productivity and an entrepreneurial spirit towards ensuring that South African artists are able to work in the creative industries with a better sense of dignity.

(Keynote address delivered by Ismail Mahomed at the Graduation Ceremony of the Cultural Development Trust’s MAPP SETA Learnership Certificate for Arts administration and Management. Ismail Mahomed is the Director of the National Arts Festival. He writes and speaks in his own capacity.)

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