Call for entries: Business Arts South Africa Awards 2021

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 art, culture and creativity. Where sponsorship of a project, event or organisation has been shared, each of the sponsoring companies may enter, BASA said.

Applicants need to register to enter, and then follow the steps outlined online. Registration and entry is free.

View the application process, guidelines and criteria here. The submission deadline 4 June.

The awards will recognise work done in 2020 and reward partnerships in the following seven 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 full-time employees and an annual turnover of no more than R10m.

Sponsorship in-kind: Acknowledging a business giving quantifiable and impactful non-monetary support to the arts. This may be through 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, 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 arts project, the broader community and the business, must be apparent.

In addition, two special awards will be given out at the discretion of the BASA board of directors, to celebrate remarkable contributions made by individuals, businesses or organisations to the sustainability of South Africa’s arts.

“This year’s awards once again aims to spotlight the imaginative ways in which the business and creative sectors have partnered for mutual benefit,” BASA CEO Ashraf Johaardien said. “All too often, changing economic conditions increase the pressure on businesses to justify the value and benefit of partnering with the arts.”

“Our role at BASA is to do and share the necessary research and to instil a sense of confidence and courage amongst our stakeholders, by disseminating the relevant data via platforms, such as the awards.”

View the original call here.