Johannesburg, 16 August 2018 – The National Arts Council (NAC) launched its new strategic approach to funding today at an inspiring event held at Constitution Hill. The event was attended by arts stakeholders, influencers and various thought leaders.
Central to its new strategic realignment is an imperative to be adaptable and relevant in an everchanging environment and sector to create an approach to funding that allows the NAC to Fund For Impact.
Over the years the NAC has been gradually shifting its strategic focus towards finding ways to position itself, in line with its full mandate, as a national government agency that traverses the arbitrary boundaries that exist between financial and non-financial support, and those that exist between the various artistic disciplines. The new approach is underpinned by a renewed engagement with stakeholders and rediscovering the true meaning of the agency’s legislative mandate, and guiding policies and principles.
The NAC’s new strategic realignment is guided by new goals aimed at addressing the country’s imperatives and the funding needs of the arts sector. The new programmatic alignment will allow the NAC to move away from a discipline-based approach to funding and introduce a programmatic focus aimed at “funding for impact.” This approach will allocate funding and support to beneficiaries located within specified programmes. This means moving forward, calls for funding will focus on programmes that advance priorities such as Social Cohesion and Nation Building, Innovation, Design and Creation, Arts platforms / Showcases / Exhibitions / Festivals, Strategic Initiatives and Capacity Building.
“The new programmes encompass not only the various artistic disciplines in an interdisciplinary and transversal way, they speak to national government’s broader country imperatives, as set out in the National Development Plan’s vision 2030, of creating a sustainable future for all South Africans. They are guided by a vision to unlock the potential of our new enhanced five-year strategy ad structure towards maximising efficiency and ensuring that performance targets are exceeded. Our eyes are also set on strategic goals that speak to the NDP’s imperatives such as transformation and inclusivity,” says Rosemary Mangope CEO of NAC.
The NAC recently embarked on national workshops and hosted roundtables to present the new strategy to provincial artists and art organisations.