at a Heritage Day exhibition at the Albert Luthuli Museum, Groutville
16 September 2006
Salutations,
It is highly significant and symbolic that we should meet during Heritage
Month at the museum which honours the memory of the late Inkosi Albert Luthuli,
so near to the home where he lived for so many years, and to which his
movements were eventually restricted by the apartheid regime, and where he met
his untimely death.
Inkosi Luthuli is a vibrant part of our heritage. He and the ideals for
which he stood will never be forgotten. And it seems appropriate that we should
today also be exhibiting and honouring the artistic work of Ron Harris, which
also has a special place in the struggle for freedom and democracy. The
exhibition is part of the Spirit of Albert Luthuli series.
It absolutely captures the faith in God and the rightness of the struggle
that was personified in the beliefs of Inkosi Luthuli, and his unshakeable
conviction that justice would triumph in the end, in spite of the setbacks and
despair of the time. It was a conviction with which he imbued his people and
which ultimately won the day. The phase of struggle against the odds but with
faith nonetheless is superbly captured here today in artworks which, like so
many human beings, had to go into exile overseas to survive, but has made a
triumphant return.
Struggle through art
The work of Ron Harris reflects a sombre period in our history when the odds
were stacked against us and it seemed impossible that the stranglehold of the
forces of apartheid could be broken and shaken off. In his work, freedom and
emancipation were depicted as a glimmering; distant dawn "certain, an article
of faith" but some way distant nevertheless.
It reflects a period of courage and moral strength in the face of daunting
odds that must never be forgotten. Nor should we ever forget the role played by
our artists, writers, musicians and others, as well as painters who kept alive
the spirit of dissent and resistance when all seemed lost. Artists are in many
ways the soul of a nation. Those such as Ron Harris depicted on canvas the
qualities of that soul, the absolute refusal to temporise in any way with
racism and injustice.
Since those days the dawn of freedom and emancipation has arrived. It is no
longer a distant glimmer; we are in the full flood of morning light. We are
free and we rejoice in it. Does that mean the role of the artist has
changed?
In a certain sense it has. Today's artists no longer have to depict the
grim, almost despairing days of struggle against seemingly impossible odds, the
way Ron Harris did. Our artists today "painters, musicians, sculptors, whatever
their genre" exuberantly reflect the joy of liberation. That is obvious in the
energy and brightness of their work. They rejoice as the warm morning sun of
liberation climbs higher in the sky, now the political dawn is past, and they
depict an energised, celebrating nation.
However, I believe that in another sense artists should still be involved in
a struggle for liberation, the way Inkosi Luthuli and Ron Harris were. It is
just that the ground has changed. While before the people were in a struggle
for political liberation, today they are involved in a struggle for the
economic empowerment that would make political liberation fully meaningful.
Also, they are locked in struggles to remove the backlogs of the past in areas
such as education and health care. They are locked in a truly life and death
struggle with HIV/AIDS. I believe that as artists depict the nation and the
world we live in, these images need to be portrayed as well. An exuberant,
liberated nation also has to face realities, and I believe our artists have a
great responsibility to depict and capture that struggle. However, artists
today are in a position to themselves play a material role in the struggle for
economic empowerment. While they depict and capture the full artistic character
and vigour of our society, and while they reinstate areas of our culture and
heritage that had been neglected and marginalised under apartheid, they are
able to become part of a new and developing economic sector.
KwaZulu-Natal already dominates the domestic tourism market. It is taking an
increasing share of the international market. I see that share increasing
steadily once the La Mercy Airport, very close to where we are today, becomes a
reality in the next few years and international tourists start arriving in
increasing numbers.
Zulu culture is an important part of KwaZulu-Natal's attraction for
tourists, domestic and international. Cultural tourism is a growing product and
is being promoted by the Office of the Premier, as well as by the Department of
Arts, Culture and Tourism. We seek a playing through of the cultural and
artistic elements into the overall tourism product. And such an emphasis
inevitably creates opportunities for artists in all kinds of areas such as
music and dance, painting and sculpture and craftwork. The intention is that as
the arts and culture are developed, economic opportunities should be created
for practitioners; they should be able to sell their performances or their
products into the tourism market.
That is why there is an increasing emphasis on the development of arts
centres, on arts and culture co-operatives; on the development of business and
marketing skills. We want traditional art, for which there is a great demand
overseas, to get into those overseas markets on an organised and sustainable
basis; for tourists to be exposed to what is on offer. Overall, the intention
is that artists should derive income from their talent and their hard work;
that the South African society they depict in all its colour, energy and
exuberance should also provide them the means of making a living.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism has a programme of
identifying artistic talent in whatever field, developing it and promoting it,
providing the artists identified to perform or record their work "in the case
of musicians" or display and sell it in other cases. The department, together
with my office, has a programme of developing and promoting cultural tourism.
Umkhosi Womhlanga and King Shaka Day "which is commemorated next weekend" are
high profile examples, where art, culture and heritage mesh into an experience
that has high significance and attraction for tourists. We are developing an
add-on to the existing tourism industry, which will provide opportunities for
artists as well as for emerging tourism entrepreneurs.
Art and culture are practiced for their own sake. Without art and culture,
and the celebration of heritage, people would be empty as human beings. It is
art, culture and heritage that make us what we are. But we are in the fortunate
situation that the more the arts, culture and heritage are practiced and
celebrated, the more they are developed, the greater the opportunities that are
created for people to use their talents to uplift themselves
economically.
I detect certain symmetry in this with the work of struggle artists such as Ron
Harris. Where they were concerned with depicting the reality of the day, at the
same time driving the political struggle, today's artists depict a
post-liberation reality, but are also driving a struggle for economic
emancipation and economic upliftment.
With that thought I thank the organisers for the opportunity to be with you
to share a few ideas today, and I wish you all well with this highly worthwhile
exhibition. I thank you for your attention.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
16 September 2006
Source: SAPA
