Artists are entrepreneurs

There is great promise for the creative industries now that a platform has been created for the media, practitioners, public and government to discuss the role of the arts in the economy.

Obviously, this is a long-overdue development but no one can deny that the national consultative conference on the role of the arts in the economy is very important.

It will take place in Newtown, Johannesburg, on April 14-15 for relevant stakeholders to put the spotlight on creative industries.

For decades, indigenous artists have not only died as paupers but the commercial dimension of what artists do has always been downplayed to a hobby or dismissed as something done by people who have failed elsewhere.

And yet there is no denying that creative activities — from dance, singing, acting, designing and cooking, for instance — have provided opportunities for individuals not only to find purpose and meaning in life but to make and earn a living.

It is, indeed, a long-overdue development that government brought all the artists, managers, practitioners, activists and other people under one roof to take full responsibility for what happens in their sector.

After all, the poverty and other plights of creative people is not the problem of government but a direct result of how they use their talents to create sustainable material wealth for themselves.

Over the years, there has been more than enough izimbizo and other talk-shop forums that have heightened awareness about the plight of artists and how they are exploited and thus die poor.

Significantly, there now seems to be a paradigm shift in terms of not only using the creative industries to make people in the sector aware of their economic value but to elevate their role from being entertainers to entrepreneurs.

Of course, there are scores of people who have turned into millionaires through their focus, commitment and passion for artistic activities. These may include producers, publishers, film-makers, musicians, artists, actors, designers, writers, chefs and many more.

Unfortunately, the emphasis has always been on the show or artistic side while the business side or economic value of what they do has been deliberately hidden or downplayed.

Right now in South Africa, there is a misguided belief that if you go into the arts you are condemned to the life of a pauper. And yet examples abound which show that the creative industries hold the potential to generate money for practitioners to live a life of quality and help sustain families and communities.

The big challenge has always been to establish a direct link between dedicating one’s life to art and earning enough to live a dignified and respectable life.

The great dilemma in South Africa is that we have produced world-class talent but society lacks a broader understanding and appreciation of the role of the arts in the economy.

It is a good thing that the government, for instance, has provided a platform for relevant stakeholders to thrash out the issues to help change societal perception of the creative industries.

In fact, human talent, especially creativity, is the ultimate driver of the economy as all business leaders are creative artists who express their talents.

One can only hope that after this conference there will be no deliberate distortion of the fact that artists are not just entertainers but entrepreneurs.