Cultural producers are the key to growth in the cultural sector

Now South Africa has fourteen newly upskilled cultural leaders as the 2024 Cultural Producers Programme cohort graduates from their intensive four-month leadership induction. A project of the British Council and Business and Arts South Africa with the support of Common Purpose South Africa and Pan-African Creative Exchange (Pace), the programme targets mid-level producers in the creative space from all across South Africa and working across sectors that include theatre, radio, design, visual art, writing, gaming, music, publishing and more. They are: 

• Alexia Stramrood (gaming/generative AI, Gauteng) 
• Amogelang Pila Ditlhale (visual artist/arts administrator, Rustenburg) 
• Bongani Masela (software engineer/cultural event creator, Durban) 
• Colleen Balchin (DJ, Gauteng) 
• Fleur de Bondt (creator, Gauteng) 
• Lana Combrinck (visual artist, Gauteng)
• Menzi Mkhonza (business designer/design researcher/platform creator/alchemist, Mpumalanga)
• Mogale Sedibe (spoken word artist/author, Northern Cape) 
• Mosa Neema Rabannye (actor/writer/director, Free State) 
• Ntsikelelo Ngaleka (radio producer/curator/facilitator, Gauteng) 
• Odwa Bungu (author/poet/director, Eastern Cape) 
• Oratile Mothoagae (architect/filmmaker, Gauteng) 
• Rae Human (filmmaker/festival curator, Western Cape) 
• Yusra Peters (writer/director/producer/activist, Western Cape) 

Speaking at the graduation ceremony in Johannesburg, British Council’s head of arts South Africa and Regional (SSA) lead culture connects, Grace Meadows, spoke of the growth that lies in the discomfort of challenging yourself: “Your value as a cultural producer is not determined by accolades, even though these matter, but the impact of your work on the community because to pursue the arts is to challenge the status quo and to remain grateful for all the opportunities we have to engage, create and inspire.”

Project partner Pan African Creative Exchange’s Nike Jonah noted that 80% of our work comes from our network. Pace played a pivotal role in bringing the cohort into contact with UK and African diaspora guest lecturers, many of whom shared their success stories and also the mindset they developed in order to achieve. 

Her sentiments were echoed by project partner Amalia Hendricks from Common Purpose South Africa, who developed the group's leadership skills and mindset. She congratulated the cohort for making the commitment and sticking through the intensity and volume of work. 

Partnership, and the development of the cultural ecosystem, are central to the work that Business and Arts South Africa does across multiple programmes and through its membership offering. The Cultural Producers Programme is significant in that it addresses the needs of creatives who are already demonstrating capacity as connectors and creators. CEO, Ashraf Johaardien enthused about the skills and important work that the cultural producer carries and noted the importance of the connections that were also forged between the delivery partners, “We can often labour under the myth that we are disparate or disconnected but really all it takes is this kind of connection to spark these opportunities, to connect and to build.”

As the Cultural Producers Programme cohort members delivered their reflections on the journey, most of them identified common threads shifting through their experience of the programme.  These included greatly improved confidence, clarity of vision, a sense of community and a broader understanding of their role in the creative sector. Through the programme, each cohort member was also matched into short-term work placements within cultural organisations, with some of the cohort securing additional or ongoing work as a result. 

For more about the 2024 Cultural Producers Programme, please visit https://basa.co.za/programmes/cultural-producers-programme/