During the first year of its existence, the Department of Arts and Culture has enjoyed considerable success. Being Minister of Arts and Culture has provided me with the opportunity to interact with the ever-burgeoning arts sector on both formal and informal occasions. Throughout the past year a number of projects have highlighted the broad spectrum of the work covered by this annual report and the new steps we are taking as the Department of Arts and Culture.

The Deputy Minister and I undertook visits to most of our associated institutions, which deal with performing arts, heritage, film and language services during the course of the last twelve months. I was encouraged by the good work they are engaged in. Discussions centred on good governance, particularly the implementation of the Public Finance Management Act, which Government had passed to ensure accountability. It was also a fact-finding exercise to interact more directly with the people doing the work. These consultations, along with our interaction with the broader arts community during the izimbizo, informed our interaction with Parliament, especially during the Budget Vote presentation.

Izimbizo were a successful platform during which I witnessed first hand the talent of the youth throughout South Africa. The message from the grassroots was that though there are still immense challenges, the policies government is following are sound and are improving access to the arts and culture for the ordinary citizen.

In the area of literature, possibly the largest corpus of African literature in English was unveiled at the Pietermaritzburg campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, when the Centre of African Literary Studies was opened there last year. That institution has now become one of the primary sites for the study of modern African literature. This is one of the many heritage projects to restore to the African continent scholarly work produced by Africans and about Africans, and to restore to Africa and its people those aspects of our continent’s rich heritage that the Department is supporting.

On 5 March 2005, on the nomination of WriteAssociates, Prof. Mazisi Raymond Kunene was awarded the honorary title of South Africa’s Poet Laureate in Durban. South Africa has now formally adopted the institution of Poet Laureate and we can expect to see many another gifted poet elevated to that status in the future.

The Dumile Feni retrospective mounted at the Johannesburg Art Gallery in early 2005, saw the repatriation of the works of one of the greatest and most prolific artists that South Africa has produced. In an effort to raise awareness in the visual arts the government has invited the corporate sector to promote the arts wherever possible. Renault responded innovatively to this challenge by not only hosting and mounting the works of young South African artists in their showrooms gratis, but also by providing them with a grant making it possible for them to exhibit.

Government is contributing towards the return to South Africa of artworks produced in the African townships during the ‘70s and ‘80s to enable the country to see the work that was produced during that period.

R2 million has been dedicated to a pilot project aimed at stimulating the revival of literature in the indigenous languages. An annual literary prize has been established for new creative work in the indigenous languages to nurture and promote these languages.

Pursuant of the White Paper and the Music Industry Task Team’s recommendations, an annual music market, conference and exhibition called “Moshito” was initiated in 2004. It was a resounding success. South Africa participated in MIDEM, an international music industry market in Cannes, in February 2005, and became the first African country to have a stall at this 30 year old music market. The National Oral History and Indigenous Music Programme has been active, with the Department approving and funding over 30 projects in this last year.

The Department continues to manage its nearly 40 international cultural agreements and memoranda of understanding. New agreements were signed with Mexico in October 2004; with Tunisia in November 2004; with Greece in July 2005; and with Gabon in August 2005. These agreements provide for cultural exchanges and opportunities for training in the various cultural disciplines. They also enhance South Africa’s international relations.

The Memory of the World National Committee was set up to assist me to approve the listing of all historical and rare collections that exist in this country. These collections must be listed in a national database before they can be listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. One such collection is the Dutch East India Company Records, which are entered in the Memory of the World Register, and a plaque marking this was unveiled at the Cape Town Archives on 6 April 2005.

2004/5 was a great year for the South African film industry as many films, directors and actors won awards at top international festivals throughout the world. The National Film and Video Foundation is commended for delivering on key national priorities of equity, redress, job creation and for proactively adopting a progressive language policy.

The collective memory of our nation is vital in restoring dignity and providing restitution. The Department of Arts and Culture is tasked with ensuring that this collective memory is documented, stored and preserved for posterity. I am glad to record that in many ways and in many places South Africans are taking charge of this.

Z. Pallo Jordan.
Minister.

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