The Grahamstown Festival has become a huge and complex annual celebration of the arts, transforming the small Eastern Cape city for ten days every year. However this event had very modest beginnings, as did music and festivals in the city of Grahamstown. From its early days Grahamstown showed strong signs of becoming an important cultural centre, presenting numerous musical concerts from 1812, the festival tradition in the city beginning in 1887. The modern arts festival, initiated in 1971, had a chequered history during the early and mid 1970's, weathering economic recession, petrol restrictions and a repressive and restrictive political atmosphere. However by 1979 the event had become established and popular enough to ensure continued success during the 1980's. The period 1980-89 was one of great growth and development for the festival regarding attendance, and the number and nature of productions presented. Music had always been an integral part of the festival, and for the first time its role in this artistic celebration is being examined. The impact of such an event is varied and far-reaching, and thus difficult to assess, but the thesis ends with an attempt to gauge the Festival's impact.

The accurate measurement of the value of the arts to society is becoming increasingly important in developing countries, like South Africa, where the arts must compete with housing, health, education and the like for public funds. Motivation for the public funding of arts events, like the Standard Bank National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, is usually based on the economic impact, that is, the financial benefits to the region, of such events. The argument is problematic, however, because the primary recipients of such economic benefits are often middle to upper income groups who also attend more arts performances. Furthermore, the studies have not taken into account the positive externalities which, it is argued, are generated by the arts and are enjoyed by attenders and non attenders alike. This thesis argues that it is the social benefits which the arts provide, those external to the market, which should be the basis of public funding. In order to quantify these positive externalities, a willingness to pay (WTP) study was conducted in the Grahamstown region. It is generally, but erroneously, believed that the Festival does not benefit the poorer, largely black, Grahamstown East residents. The study found that, in addition to the economic value (R23 - 25 million a year), the non-market benefits which the festival provides are worth between R2.3 and R3 million a year and form a very important part of its value, particularly to low income groups. The study also found that there are methodological adjustments which can be made to WTP studies to successfully control for the many forms of bias it is prone to. By using a combination of closed and open ended and liable and non-liable questions, the motivation of respondents' answers to WTP questions was determined, making it possible to adjust for bias caused by, for example, "free rider" and "warm glow" responses. It is argued that by identifying and excluding such responses from WTP surveys, it is possible to reduce bias to an acceptable level.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Economics and Economic History)) - Rhodes University, 2006.

Over the course of the last three decades, it has become popular practice to evaluate tourism events like cultural festivals in financial terms, through the use of economic impact studies. This can be attributed at least in part to the notable growth in the number of festivals being held globally and, as such, a higher level of competition between festivals for the limited funding which is available. Economic impact studies, and the resultant findings, have thus become powerful tools for the lobbying of sponsorship, and it has become increasingly important that the impact calculations be as accurate as possible, so as to effectively allocate both government and private resources to projects which will be of the greatest benefit to the host region. The allocation of funding is especially vital in an area like the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, which is faced with many financial difficulties. The allocation of public funds to an event like the National Arts Festival, which is hosted in a relatively wealthy part of the province, might be weighed against initiatives which directly benefit the poorer parts of the region. Although it is acknowledged that the benefits which are felt by the host community of a cultural event go beyond that of the financial, it is often on this basis that festivals are most easily compared. The primary goal of the thesis was to analyse the various forms of methodological bias which can exist in the economic impact analyses (EIA) associated with cultural events. Theoretical considerations were discussed, specifically regarding economic impact as a method of measuring value. Various forms of bias (including data collection, the calculation of visitor numbers, multipliers, defining the area of interest, inclusion of visitor spending, and accounting for benefits only, not costs) are put into a real-life context, through the investigation of economic impact studies conducted on three selected South African festivals (the Volksblad, the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstfees, and the National Arts Festival), and one international festival (the Edinburgh Festival). An in-depth comparison of two separate studies conducted at the National Arts Festival (NAF) in 2004 (by Antrobus and Snowball) and 2005 (by Saayman et al.) was made, focussing on the manner in which the economic impact was calculated. Having considered the common forms of bias, and assessing several possible reasons for the difference of approximately twenty million Rand in the advertised economic impacts, it was concluded that, most likely, the miscalculation of visitor numbers was the cause. This was confirmed when the Antrobus and Saayman methods were applied to the 2006 NAF data, and noting that the economic impact figures arrived at were strikingly similar. As such, it is advisable that extreme caution be taken when calculating visitor numbers, as they can significantly influence the outcome of an economic impact study. It is recommended that each study should also have transparent checks in place, regarding the key calculation figures, to ensure that less scrupulous researchers are not as easily able to succumb to the pressure event sponsors might impose to produce inflated impact values.

In South Africa, the performing arts have contributed to enhancing national identity and distinctiveness despite coming up against weak legislation, policy and infrastructure to support their growth and proliferation (Fredericks, 2005: 9). Coupled with a decline in both government and consumer support and the contradictory disparity between valuing the arts and the funding of the arts, theatre companies can no longer rely on the comfort of external subsidies and financial support. In order to be economically viable and sustainable to ensure their survival, there is an increasing demand for theatre companies to look to novel ways of increasing audience demand for theatre and improving audience attendance. However, instead of risking artistic integrity and the performance product to satisfy the market, this research suggests that promotion and development of theatre at arts festivals provides a platform to access a wider theatre-going public, which therefore facilitates a change in the market focus toward appreciation of the product (production). It explores leading arguments pertaining to the attendance of arts and cultural events, namely, Peterson and Simkus (1992), later updated by Peterson‟s (2005)„omnivore-univore‟ argument. The argument purports cultural consumption as binary in nature: either significant and diverse or limited, if not absent altogether. Supported by a number of case-studies, including Chan and Goldthorpe (2005) and Montgomery and Robinson (2008) and Snowball et al. (2009), the investigation challenges Bourdieu‟s (1984) theory on cultural distinction as well as the homology and individualisation argument. In determining the factors that influence cultural taste and consumer behaviour, including motivators and inhibitors of attendance and a predominant emphasis on audience risk and information asymmetry, the research was placed in a local context, providing an overview of the socio-economic theatre environment in South Africa. It investigated the nature, structure and impact of local festivals (as events) in changing audience demand and theatre attendance. With specific reference to the South African National Arts Festival (NAF) the research notes the effects of Hauptfleisch‟s „eventification‟ phenomenon on univore attenders and therefore expands the omnivore-univore theory to include a new breed of attender: the “Festivore”. A case study explored the “Festivore” hypothesis through empirical research, surveys and face-to-face qualitative interviews and on-seat questionnaire responses by festival attenders. Personal interviews and communication was also carried out with leading experts in the field. The data was then analysed using SPSS 13 electronic statistical analysis programme to determine the socio-demographics and the factors that affect theatre attendance of existing, as well as potential target, theatre audiences at the National Arts Festival The study concluded that South African theatre attenders are generally omnivorous consumers and that, more importantly, there seems to be a shift towards „festivorous‟ consumption. Furthermore, evidence supports the development and proliferation of festivals as a means not only to support and promote the arts in South Africa but, more importantly, to generate new theatre audiences and entrench theatre attendance into South African culture.

This thesis investigates the presentation of AmaXhosa traditional dancing and music on the stages of the National Arts Festival (NAF), Main Programme, of South Africa in 2009. Four productions featuring AmaXhosa traditional dancing and music, as well as a fine art exhibition, are analysed to determine how the AmaXhosa culture is being portrayed, what is considered authentic and how these productions may affect the memory of the AmaXhosa nation. In an attempt to understand the position of these productions within the NAF the South African cultural context as well as the NAF is examined. The post-apartheid, post-rainbow nation, South African cultural context is discussed and how the NAF could contribute towards creating a more unified South African identity. Incorporated and inscribed memory categories are related to how one could determine authenticity in traditional indigenous productions. A cautionary note on incorporated memory is linked to efficacy, while a loss of incorporated memory within the AmaXhosa society may result in ritual acts being orientated towards entertainment. If the private culture is consistently displayed in the public realm then it is inevitable that the ways in which the AmaXhosa recollect their history will be altered. The contribution of the transitional spaces of theatres and proscenium arch stages to the choreography and incorporated memory of the performers relates to the collective recollection of the AmaXhosa. Bearing this in mind, this thesis suggests that the NAF is playing a dual role in the evolution of the AmaXhosa. It is both positively contributing to the economic upliftment of a sector of the population and exposing people to this rich and multilayered culture. However, it is also impacting the efficacy of the private culture and fracturing the traditional knowledge of the AmaXhosa by assisting in the inscription of their performance forms. / This thesis consists of three parts (1 pdf document and two video mp4 files)

The arts in many countries, but particularly in developing ones, are coming under increasing financial pressure and finding it difficult to justify the increases in government funding needed to maintain and grow the cultural sector. The trend in cultural economics, as well as in other areas, appears to be towards including qualitative valuations, as well as the more traditional quantitative ones. This thesis argues that the value of cultural events should include long term historical qualitative analysis, financial or economic impact and a valuation of the positive externalities provided by cultural events and that any one of these should only be regarded as a partial analysis. Four methods of valuing the arts using the South African National Arts Festival (NAF) as an example are demonstrated. Firstly, a qualitative historical analysis of the role of the NAF in South Africa’s transformation process from Apartheid to the democratic New South Africa is examined, using theories of cultural capital as a theoretical basis. It is argued that the value of cultural events needs to take into account long-term influences especially in countries undergoing political and social transformation. The second valuation method applied is the traditional economic impact study. Four economic impact studies conducted on the NAF are discussed and methodologies compared. It is concluded that, despite the skepticism of many cultural economists, the method can provide a useful partial valuation and may also be used for effective lobbying for government support of the arts. Chapter four discusses willingness to pay studies conducted at the NAF in 2000 and 2003 (as well as a pilot study conducted at the Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees). It is found that lower income and education groups do benefit from the positive externalities provided by the Festival and that this is reflected in their willingness to pay to support it. It is also argued that such contingent valuation studies can provide a reasonably reliable valuation of Festival externalities, but that they may be partly capturing current or future expected financial gains as well. Finally, the relatively new choice experiment methodology (also called conjoint analysis) is demonstrated on visitors to the NAF. The great advantage of this method in valuing cultural events is that it provides part-worths of various Festival attributes for different demographic groups. This enables organizes to structure the programme in such a way as to attract previously excluded groups and to conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each part of the Festival.