Campaign For Free Expression to launch investigation report on issue of freedom of expression in the creative and cultural sector
By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor
The event is expected to attract huge interest in the creative and cultural sector at its launch at Wits Art Museum this week. Among those expected to attend are leaders from the creative and cultural industry ranks as well as individual artists to get insight into the sector about whether or not there is room for free expression.
I am talking about the launch of what must rank as one of the most anticipated reports into the state of the creative and cultural sector in post-apartheid South Africa at Wits Art Museum this week.
The launch of this report, commissioned by the Campaign For Free Expression is significant in that it is the first time that a report of its kind has been produced, which looks at the state of free expression in the cultural and creative sector in democratic South Africa.. It comes at a time when questions are being raised about a number of issues affecting the sector particularly after the advent of Covid-19, which almost decimated the cultural and creative sectors globally, and South Africa is no exception. It is also for the first time that an independent investigation has been launched into this issue by an independent organisation not aligned to either the cultural and creative sector or government and its agencies in South Africa.
The launch of this report will take the form of a panel discussion titled The State of Free Expression in the South African Cultural Sector: A Discussion, according to a statement released by the Non-Profit Organisation Campaign For Free Expression this week.
“The Campaign for Free Expression (CFE) will be releasing an important report into the state of free expression in South Africa’s cultural sector and hosting a discussion on the report on April 13 at the forecourt of the Wits Art Museum at 18:00.
Cultural workers face many obstacles in exercising the right to free expression. Many artists believe they are stifled and suppressed due to the politicisation of the boards of arts funding agencies. They say they face the withdrawal of funds or sanctions if they speak out against maladministration, a lack of transparency in application processes, inadequate leadership, and hostile reactions to provocative work. These factors create an environment where many opportunities for the growth of their work and the sector are lost.
The maladministration of the Presidential Economic Stimulus Programme (PESP), which was meant to help the arts and culture sector at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, focused attention on how the National Arts Council (NAC), in particular, mismanaged and mishandled the distribution of funds and the selection of beneficiaries.
The CFE report and subsequent discussion will explore the factors that affect and disrupt growth and sustainability in the arts and culture sector, as detailed by cultural workers. It explores the extent to which political pressures lead to censorship and censorship to self-censorship, and the impact this has on the ability of cultural workers to engage in their sector.
The report will be available at the event and from www.freeexpression.org.za.
You are invited to attend the discussion at 18.00 at the Wits Art Museum,” the media stamen states.
*The Campaign for Free Expressions is a non-partisan, non-profit organisation that defends and promotes free expression for all across southern Africa.