A research report submitted to the University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of
Humanities, School of Arts, in fulfilment of the requirements of a
Masters degree in Arts and Culture Management
Johannesburg 2015 / The Civil Society sector in South Africa has been experiencing a funding crisis for the
past 20 years. The arts represent a small portion of Civil Society, and the visual arts
a small part of the art. This research considers how these visual arts non-profit
organisations (VANPOs) in this economic microsphere have been challenged to
survive and sustain their missions in what is a competitive, fluctuating and complex
environment.
This study scrutinizes the concept of sustainability and the visual arts non-profit
sector’s capacity for implementation of economically sustainable projects in the
current economic and funding environment in South Africa. It outlines the complex
and challenging nature of sustainability for VANPOs. The VANPOs, all small
organisations, have limited human and cash resources to implement sustainability
strategies while fulfilling their missions. Furthermore the funding environment focuses
on short-term project grants and production-oriented efforts. This does not offer the
organisations much opportunity towards long-term organisational development nor
strategic resourcefulness. At the same time they struggle to remain compliant with
government regulations and donor requirements.
This research considers methods of assessing sustainability and the perspectives of
professionals involved in the management of VANPOs. It examines the challenges
they have faced in finding ways to implement sustainability and in the implementation
of ‘sustainable’ projects. The brief case studies focus on how five VANPOs have
responded to diminishing funding.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/19386 |
| Date | 28 January 2016 |
| Creators | French, James E |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf |
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