10 November 2004

Thank you, Programme Director,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

The worst part of such evenings, I know, is when the speeches begin. So I will not test your patience. I shall try to be brief.

Allow firstly to congratulate the University of Stellenbosch, especially its student body, for the courageous stand it took in awarding the late Bram Fischer an honorary doctorate posthumously. I suppose I will never understand the objections raised by so many of the old Maties to this decision. I do however remain absolutely confident that the verdict of history will be that Bram Fischer was one of the greatest sons of the Afrikaaner people. It is a good thing that a younger generation of Maties has recognized this before their elders. Apart from the intense emotions his name seems to provoke amongst some, his life story has also inspired a number of artistic works, in literature and in film. I trust that this decision marks a re-evaluation, not only of Bram Fischer’s life and deeds, but also of the role that this University has played in the 20th century history of this country.

The arts are one of the numerous ways human beings have devised to tell a story, record their achievements, express their emotions and transmit their experience - good , bad and indifferent. The visual arts and music differ from literature in that they do not rely on any previous instruction for the audience to appreciate them. The visual arts are accessible to virtually all people who are sighted, including those who might be illiterate. Though one might have problems comprehending what the artist is trying to communicate, you will be struggling with something the senses have taken in.

As a human race we evolved the arts as an addition means of communicating with each other, employing a medium other than everyday speech. We all consider the arts to be evocative because of their ability to sensitise us what may well be extra-ordinary in that which appears very ordinary. They have the unique ability open our eyes to that which another sees; to awaken our senses to what another feels; and to arose our emotions about what another can perceive. It is not pure chance that virtually every society has employed the arts to memorialise those we consider great, famous or high achievers. Whether they employ poetry, prose, the paint brush, the sculptor’s chisel or a musical instrument , artists can persuade us to perceive good even in the most disreputable persons; they can assist us to detect the fundamental weaknesses in even the greatest figures; they can uncover the best concealed flaws in the most powerful.

Herman van Nazareth, a Belgian-born sculptor and graphic artist, came to this country during a most difficult time, in 1965. He was attached to the Michaelis School of Fine Arts of the University of Cape Town where he made his mark as a sculptor. Perhaps it was his sojourn in Africa that stimulated his interest in masks. While in this country he began to experiment with the use of new materials which he began to use in earnest after his return to Belgium in 1978. I am told that his work departs from the comfortably conformist and invites the viewer to interrogate it closely.

I trust that we will all interrogate these works closely.

As a country and as a nation South Africa is deeply committed to the development of the arts in our country. The Promotion of Arts and Culture in South Africa programme in my department develops the literary, performing and visual arts by providing financial assistance to performing arts institutions. It is active in 24 community arts centres around the country and funds 10 festivals every year.

The setting up of Provincial Steering Committees and the National Steering Committee for community arts centres will ensure a long-term and transparent relationship between the Department and the sector. Presently we offer administrative and financial support to nine provincial steering committees.

Arts centres are no substitute to formal training in schools, colleges and tertiary institutions. Both the Minister of Education and myself are seized with the challenge of providing such formal training in our school system. As a country we have to appreciate that to resource such training will require some re-configuration of how education is financed. But if we are to nurture the creative and talented amongst our young people, we must create the opportunities for them while they are still young.

South Africa is coming to terms with itself as a nation through a process of national reconciliation and healing. Our artists can play an important role in fostering a new sense of belonging and national pride amongst us. We in government will do our best to create the environment conducive to creative work. But it is only by working together with the arts community that we will be able to reap the rewards of our collective efforts.

This exhibition of the works of a Belgian artist who lived and worked in South Africa, hopefully, will tell us something about ourselves. Because what is depicted here is perhaps South Africa and the South African experience seen through the eyes of a non-South African.

I hope all who come to visit it will be edified and touched by what they see.

Thank you.

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