Issued by: Government Communication and Information System
Kimberley - Delivering the opening address at the of the Azaria Mbatha exhibition, Dr Ben Ngubane, Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology yesterday .emphasised the need for continued transformation and institutional change. He was speaking at the William Humphries Art Gallery in Kimberley, one of the more than fourteen declared cultural institutions funded by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology.
Dr Ngubane commented that the exhibition, curated by the Durban Art Gallery and set to travel countrywide, represented a turning point in the life of the William Humphries Art Gallery.
He commented on the new willingness demonstrated by the Gallery to ensuring representivity and relevancy in exhibitions, collections and access to museum resources. Speaking to artists, members of the local community, the Premier of the Northern Cape, Mr Manne Dipico, the MEC for Arts, Culture, Sport and Recreation, Mr Brian Hermanus and others, Dr Ngubane expressed the hope that the Gallery's new council will work proactively with his Department to maximise the potential of the facility. He said that it should aim to ensure the true recognition of the diverse cultural heritage of the country in its policies and practices. He commended Ms Rosemary Holloway and her staff on the excellent management of collections and expressed a hope that the quality of such collections would be enhanced by increasing reflectionof the work of local and national artists, known and unknown.
Dr Ngubane said that the Azaria Mbatha exhibition is a noteworthy initiative, not only because it signals a new era of constructive collaboration between arts institutions and organisations in the country, but also because it is symbolic of the fact that South Africa is now, at last, seriously recognising the talents of its artists.
Since 1994, the identity of the South African arts sector has undergone radical transformation and it now reflects the broad and diverse features of the local arts scene. Dr Ngubane mentioned that, since 1994, his Ministry has, among other things, built or renovated forty-two functioning community arts centres in impoverished communities, providing an invaluable resource for development, and established a National Arts Council to meet the needs of artists across the board.
Dr Ngubane also welcomed the next generation of heritage- and arts-workers and expressed the hope that cultural institutions will facilitate training and career development, creating job opportunities in related fields. Training for community arts centres and their management was also vital, he said.
Advocate Majiet, Chair of the William Humphries Art Gallery board, commended Dr Ngubane's vision in meeting the needs of the arts in South Africa and commented on the Minister's involvement in numerous programmes, projects and organisations, from the National Research Foundation (NRF) to Business and Arts South Africa (Basa).
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Issued by the Government Communication and Information System
Pretoria,
7 September 1999