Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), in partnership with Hollard, is calling for entries for its 2020 Awards. The move to an entirely digital platform for the first time ever, this year, sees the event reinvigorated and reimagined.
"What hasn’t changed is the commitment of both BASA and Hollard to encourage excellence and innovation in the arts, as well as promote those mutually beneficial partnerships between business and the arts," comments BASA Head of Marketing, Savannah Feeke-Fortune. “The Awards always strive to shine a spotlight on the diverse and imaginative relationships forged between the business partner and the creative projects, events and initiatives. The 2020 iteration is dedicated to its mandate of identifying artistic best practices, as well as recognising and celebrating these partnerships, she explains.
This assurance is echoed in Awards’ partner, Hollard’s continued support of the Awards. Heidi Brauer, Hollard’s Chief Marketing Officer, notes, “Partnerships and the arts are in our DNA, which is why we are so excited to work with BASA again, during one of the most unprecedented times in our global history. Our purpose is to enable more people to create and secure a better future. This year, our support for BASA is not only at an awards sponsorship level, but we are passionate about ensuring that artists can continue creating and thus earn a livelihood. This is why we have donated a portion of the costs that would have been spent on this year’s event, directly to the artists via the BASA Supporting Grants programme, so that they can keep working on their craft and also provide for their families”.
All creative mediums will be considered, including music, visual arts, dance, theatre, physical performance, architecture, fashion and design, as well as any other form of arts, culture and creativity. Where sponsorship of a project, event or organisation has been shared, each of the sponsoring companies is eligible to enter.
This year, BASA has introduced a streamlined, two-step application process, as follows:
Phase 1: Submission of an expression of interest letter, from which eligible applications will be invited continue.
Phase 2: Those shortlisted from Phase 1 will be invited to complete an application via BASA’s new online platform.
The Phase 1 submission deadline is Thursday, the 27th of August 2020. The finalists and winners in each category will be announced in November, the dates for which will be confirmed closer to the time. BASA will recognise work done in 2019 and award partnerships in the following 7 categories:
- COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: recognises business support for arts and culture projects enhancing their communities, whether through education, skills development, contributing to livelihoods or employment, tourism, or other growth opportunities in the community.
- SMME: awarded for vital support given to the arts by a micro, small or medium enterprise with up to 200 hundred full-time employees and an annual turnover of no more than R10 million.
- SPONSORSHIP IN-KIND: acknowledging a business giving quantifiable and impactful non-monetary support to the arts. This may be through the in-kind provision of equipment, materials, media or PR support, space, transportation or travel, or any other products or services, as opposed to monetary sponsorship.
- INNOVATION: celebrating the most innovative, cutting edge and progressive partnership that served all partners’ purposes effectively. These breakthrough projects and partnerships should demonstrate great creativity, originality, reinvention, new methodologies, or technological/digital innovation.
- FIRST TIME SPONSOR: awarded to a business supporting the arts for the first time, regardless of size, or budget, whether it is CSI, marketing, HR, B-BBEE or other.
- BEYOND BORDERS: awarded to a partnership that builds brand reputation and audience for both the business and arts partners across borders, through a project showcasing South Africa to the rest of the continent and/or overseas, or bringing international or intercontinental arts projects to South Africa.
- LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP: recognising outstanding initiative and commitment to the arts over a longer period (at least one year) as an integral part of the business’s strategy. The value to the art project, the broader community and the business must be apparent.
In addition, two Special Awards will be made at the discretion of the BASA Board of Directors to celebrate remarkable contributions by individuals, businesses, and organisations to the sustainability of South Africa’s arts:
- BASA CHAIRPERSON’S ADVOCACY AWARD: in recognition of sustained and extraordinary commitment to the arts in South Africa, in the form of advocacy and awareness initiatives and/or direct support for the arts, whether in a personal or professional capacity at a local, national or international level.
- DIPLOMACY IN THE ARTS AWARD: recognising foreign missions that contribute to the development and preservation of the arts in South Africa, as well as the continued prioritisation of cultural diplomacy between South Africa and the international community.
- BASA Awards Judge, Khanyi Mamba shares “BASA Awards are not just sponsorship awards. The awards recognise engaged collaborations between businesses and the arts. It’s easy to just hand over money. Building a sustainable, results-driven partnership is far more challenging and requires an elevated level of commitment from both parties. This is what we want to see.”
For further information about categories, eligibility and judging criteria, and entry guidelines, visit BASA’s website. Interested applicants can also contact the Awards’ support team at awards@basa.co.za or call 0636696281.
Notes to Editors
Founded in 1997 as a joint initiative with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), mutually beneficial partnerships are hardwired into the DNA of Business and Arts South Africa NPC (BASA), and these are core to our founding ethos. BASA believes in the power that comes from a deep collaboration between the right partners, and the transformational value of the arts to effect meaningful social change. For more information, please visit BASA's website.
