Programme Director
Members of the Mayoral Council
Representatives of the City of Johannesburg
Members of the Diplomatic corps
Our artists and exhibitors
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
In less than nine months from now, the eyes of the world will be firmly placed on our country. This will be a time when the first whistle signalling the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the world’s largest sporting event, will be blown. On that historic moment, we will as a nation unite in declaring that: kenako, Africa’s time has come!
We will be opening our arms and our warm hearts to welcome the peoples of the world, calling on them to celebrate Africa’s humanity.
Programme Director, this we can say without fear of contradiction that; after this historic event our country and our continent will never be the same again.
We say this because the 2010 FIFA World Cup offers us a unique opportunity to build a proud and lasting legacy not only for South Africa but also on the African continent.
The recording of this event, its management, its origins and most importantly its awarding and its actual hosting for the first time on the African continent will become part of South Africa’s Heritage. It will become something we want to preserve for the benefit of future generations.
As part of building a lasting legacy beyond 2010, we have a responsibility to use the World Cup to expose the peoples of the world to our unique and proud culture as Africans.
In this regard, we must ensure that the 2010 FIFA World Cup becomes a world class event but most importantly a truly African event. We must use this event, among others, to showcase our artistic talents as Africans to the world.
It is against this background that this evening’s launch of the Artists of Africa Exhibition draws significance. This exhibition will go a long way towards profiling our African artists, exposing their work and talents to a wide international audience, thus offering them an opportunity to make a decent living for themselves.
Learning from previous experiences, where many of our artists have been unable enjoy sustainable livelihoods from their creative and intellectual work, the Department of Arts and Culture has prioritised, among others, the issue of assisting our artists to make a decent living from their artistic works.
We believe this exhibition will contribute significantly towards the achievement of this important objective.
Furthermore, this exhibition will strengthen efforts to develop the African contemporary art industry, ensuring that it takes its rightful place among other forms of artistic expressions. We are also encouraged that this exhibition will add to the growing body of knowledge on African contemporary art. Equally encouraging is that this will be done by Africans themselves telling their own stories, reflecting on their own personal experiences, proudly re-affirming the saying that: nothing about us, without us.
Programme Director, the Department of Arts and Culture are proud to be associated with this exhibition. We associate ourselves with this initiative because we believe it will build a lasting legacy for our African contemporary artists before, during and beyond the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Indeed as government we view the 2010 FIFA World Cup as an important catalyst that will positively influence all sectors of our society, including the arts.
In this regard we have identified the 2010 FIFA World Cup as a one of the platforms we will use to build a lasting legacy in the arts, culture and heritage sector.
Specifically, we will continue to support 2010 legacy projects through initiating and funding cultural histories of the host cities as well as cities in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. We are also looking into rural communities benefiting from the World Cup through the establishment of cinemas in rural areas as a legacy of the public viewing areas established during the event.
In addition, we are supporting initiatives that could contribute to job creation and the promotion of sustainable livelihoods, which is one of the key areas of focus for the current term of governance. These initiatives include translating and editing job opportunities for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, digitisation of local content and the development of tour guides in South African heritage sites.
An opportunity exists for the establishment of a 2010 FIFA World Cup Museum, Library and Exhibition facility as part of building a lasting legacy beyond 2010. This facility could contribute to tourism and economic development.
Painters, storytellers from all walks of life and other artists could be commissioned to preserve the 2010 FIFA World Cup event for posterity.
A heritage village could be established with a view to showcase this event to South Africans and the world.
The Department of Arts and Culture once more commits itself to continue working with the Local Organising Committee and all other stakeholders to ensure that the 2010 FIFA World Cup becomes an unforgettable African experience. This we will do by supporting initiatives aimed at building lasting benefits to our people and exposing visitors to our country and continent to our culture, customs, cuisine, music, heritage, the mighty vuvuzela and all that makes us uniquely and proudly Africa.
This must indeed be an African World Cup.
I wish you a successful exhibition.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
16 September 2009
Source: Department of Arts and Culture (http://www.dac.gov.za/)
