Congrats to the 2016 BASA Awards winners

Eleven projects were honoured at the 19th Annual BASA Awards, partnered by Hollard and Business Day, during an arts-filled event at Shine Studios in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.

The BASA Awards celebrate exceptional projects that demonstrate the positive and sustainable impact of dynamic business and arts partnerships. It is also a moment for Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), which turns 20 next year, to reflect on the realisation of its core mandate. BASA focuses on change-making, connectivity and sustainability, underpinned by a body of research that grows every day, as well as diverse public, private and civil society programmes.

Winners in this year’s award categories provided inspiring and compelling insight into the role that the arts play in connecting people and enabling transformation – and the different ways that business can support this.

“As we move towards celebrating two decades of BASA 2017, I am proud of what we see coming out of the Awards. BASA’s support and involvement in the public and private sector demonstrates what can be done when we all work together,” commented Michelle Constant, CEO of BASA.

CN&CO is a passionate supporter of the arts and a member of BASA.

“The arts are a vital cornerstone of any society,” says CN&CO’s Carel Nolte, who is also a BASA board member. “The arts are particularly relevant in South Africa where they serve as a common language of expression and have huge potential to unify our sometimes-divided society.

“Business and the arts have so much to offer each other and BASA does amazing work in bringing these two key sectors together for mutual benefit.”

Winners were each presented with a unique ceramic fynbos artwork that emerged from a project that harnesses the transformative power of art and fire. Under the guidance of artist Belinda Blignaut, the artworks were created by a group of amateur artists: Lucy Africa, Martha Nero, Jason Jack and William Jack. Blignaut explains that these artists “are part of a group that uses art therapy as a fine art, giving shape to the urgency for protest that so many communities are expressing on our national stage.”

Congratulations to the winners:

Nando’s for the Nando’s Heartfelt Celebration of South African Design (Innovation Award)
SA Taxi Foundation for the SA Taxi Foundation Art Award (First Time Sponsor Award)
SAMRO & Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Concerts SA (Increasing Access to the Arts Award)
ABSA for Barclays L’Atelier (Beyond Borders Partnership Award)
TOTAL South Africa for the Buskaid Academy of String Teaching and Performance (Long Term Partnership Award)
Radio Sonder Grense for the RSG Kunstefees 2015 (Media Sponsorship Award)
PPC for the PPC Imaginarium (Strategic Project Award)
Kirchhoff Professional Surveyors for Eland and Benko 2015 (#firegrazer) by Hannelie Coetzee (Small Business Award)
Meropa Communications for Moving into Dance Mophatong (Sponsorship In Kind Award)
Distell for the Magnet Theatre Educational Trust Fulltime Training and Job Creation Programme (Development Award)
Transnet SOC for the National Arts Festival (Cultural Tourism Award, supported by Nedbank)

Special thanks were extended to this year’s judging panel:

Gianni Mariano, co-founder and CEO of the Mastrantonio group of companies, BASA board member and BASA Awards Chairman (and one of our earliest CN&CO ConFab guest speakers)
Dali Tambo, media and heritage-tourism entrepreneur
Mandie van der Spuy, arts consultant and BASA board member
Kojo Baffoe, founder of Project Fable, Director at Kwaya Holdings and entrepreneur
Nicolette du Plessis, CEO of the Field Band Foundation
Theresho Selesho, Director, Business Development at Boondoggle SA and entrepreneur
Christina Kennedy, arts and culture journalist and commentator
Fikile Moeti, 5fm DJ and social entrepreneur