18th Annual Business Day BASA Awards, partnered by Hollard, finalists announced

The 18th Annual Business Day BASA Awards, partnered by Hollard, takes place on 21 September when the winners of eleven categories, along with several special awards, will be announced at a ceremony in Johannesburg.

The number of finalists and entries reflect an increasing recognition, by businesses of all sizes, of the role of mutually beneficial, equitable and sustainable business-arts partnerships.

"I think the awards are tremendously valuable for the arts," comments Dali Tambo, a member of the judging panel. "Without the private sector, you really don't have the kind of breadth of artistic abilities that we see in South Africa. If anything, I think one of BASA's main roles is to encourage businesses to think about the arts and how they can integrate them to their benefit and that of the public."

"The biggest thing about this year's entrants is that they made our job so much harder," adds Kojo Baffoe,. "Over the past few years, there have been categories where the out-and-out winner is quite clear but this year, in certain categories, it was very hard to differentiate between each entrant."

Judges for the 18th Annual Business Day BASA Awards, partnered by Hollard, are CEO of the Mastrantonio Group and Business and Arts South Africa board member (BASA Awards Chairman), Gianni Mariano; Entrepreneur, writer, facilitator and content architect, Kojo Baffoe; Arts commentator and writer, Mary Corrigall; CEO of the Field Band Foundation, Nicolette du Plessis; CEO of the National Heritage Monument Project, Dali Tambo; Experiential Marketing Director at Geometry Global Johannesburg, Theresho Selesho; and Arts Consultant and Business and Arts South Africa board member, Mandie van der Spuy.

The 18th Annual Business Day BASA Awards, partnered by Hollard, are audited by Grant Thornton. The finalists were revealed on 31 August at an event hosted at Hollard's Villa Arcadia.

Please find below a full list of finalists in the eleven categories that were open for entry:

1. Innovation Award

   • Adams & Adams for The Loerie Awards
     
   • Pernod Ricard South Africa for Jameson's and The Bioscope Outdoor Cinema
     
   • Rand Merchant Bank for War Horse
     
   • JH Group for the Balfour Park - So U Think You Can Sing and Marimba School Band Competition
     
   • PPC Cement (Pty) Ltd. For the PPC Public Bench Project

2. First Time Sponsor Award

   • Browns The Diamond Store for the Thuthuka Jewellery & Product Development Programme and Thuthuka Jewellery & Product Awards
     
   • Connaught Properties (Pty) Ltd. for the Outreach Foundation Community Centre Roof Garden
     
   • Workerslife for the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company Refurbishment of New Premises
     
   • Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA)for the Puku Story Festival
     
   • JT International (Pty) Ltd. for the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra NPC Noteworthy Rescue

3. Increasing Access to the Arts Award

   • Nando's Chickenland (Pty) Ltd. for The Chicken Run
     
   • Tsogo Sun for the Tsogo Sun Arts Academy
     
   • Rand Merchant Bank for the War Horse Creative Arts Education Project
     
   • Sacred Heart College for the Three2Six Education Project for Refugee Children at Sacred Heart College: Musical Theatre Project
     
   • Rand Merchant Bank for The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative Extended Rural and Local Community Arts Project Outreach 2014

4. International Sponsorship Award

   • Investec for The Voice of Anne Frank
     
   • Redefine Properties (Pty) Ltd. for the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble - UK Tour
     
   • Rand Merchant Bank for War Horse

5. Long Term Partnership Award

   • Rand Merchant Bank for the Durban Music School Youth Skills Development Project
     
   • Total South Africa (Pty) Ltd. for the Sibikwa Arts Centre Saturday Arts Academy and Community Theatre Competition
     
   • Nando's Chickenland (Pty) Ltd. for the Nando's Art Initiative
     
   • Standard Bank of South Africa Limited for the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz
     
   • First National Bank for the FNB Joburg Art Fair

6. Media Sponsorship Award

   • SAfm for the SAfm Playwriting Competition
     
   • DeskLink Media for The Art of the War Horse
     
   • Kaya FM for the Turbine Art Fair 2014
     
   • Loan Shark Media and Advertising (Pty) Ltd. for the Clap n Tap Magazine

7. Strategic Project Award

   • Nando's Chickenland (Pty) Ltd. for Nando's Accidental Art (World Design Capital Project)
     
   • Rand Merchant Bank for War Horse
     
   • Nokia South Africa for the InAWE Residency
     
   • Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela Traditional Administration for the Moruleng Cultural Precinct
     
   • Interactive Africa for the Design Indaba's Africa Is Now Exhibition of African Design

8. Small Business Award

   • Harrie's Pancakes for the Fried Contemporary Art Gallery's Capital: Past, Contemporary and Present Art Exhibitions
     
   • Mpress for The Labia Theatre's Digital Gold Crowd Funding Campaign
     
   • African Music Instruments for the Access Music Project

9. Sponsorship In Kind Award

   • Browns The Diamond Store for the Thuthuka Jewellery & Product Development Programme and Thuthuka Jewellery & Product Awards
     
   • Gold Reef City Casino for the 2014 Naledi Theatre Awards
     
   • Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Inc. for The Magnet Theatre Educational Trust's Cederberg Municipal Area Farm School Programme
     
   • Mark Thomas Architects for the New Paul du Toit Bronze and Rockgirl Benches
     
   • Propertuity for POPArt Outdoor at Common Ground

10. Development Award

    • Rand Merchant Bank for the Drama for Life Mvuso Schools and Community Education Project
      
    • Investec for the Umuzi Academy
      
    • Anglo-American Chairman's Fund for the Moving Into Dance Mophatong Training and Apprenticeship Programme
      
    • Rand Merchant Bank for The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative Extended Rural and Local Community Arts Project Outreach 2014
      
    • PPC Cement (Pty) Ltd. for the PPC Imaginarium

11. Arts and the Environment Award, supported by Nedbank

    • Hemporium for The Labia Theatre's Digital Gold Crowdfunding Campaign
      
    • First National Bank for the FNB BankCity Sculpture: The Sun Stands Still Part II

    • MayFord Seeds for the In Tune With Nature: The Dutch Evening, Last Night of the Proms, and Symphony Choir Concerts

The following special awards are selected at the discretion of the BASA Board:

• Skills Support and Mentor of the Year Award - This award recognises the long-term contribution of a volunteer to the development, professionalism, and sustainability of arts organisations through mentorship, workshop facilitation, and/or board service. Only individuals from the BASA Education Programme or the BASA BoardBank are eligible for this Award.

• Diplomacy in the Arts - Given in recognition of Foreign Missions which contribute to the development and preservation of the arts in South Africa as well as the continued prioritisation of cultural diplomacy between South Africa and the international community.

• Art Champion Award - An Award given to an individual for outstanding achievement in the encouragement of business support for the arts.

• Chairman's Premier Award - This Award is made at the discretion of the Chairman of Business and Arts South Africa and recognises sustained and extraordinary commitment to the arts in South Africa.

About BASA (NPC):

Business and Arts South Africa is an internationally recognised development agency which incorporates the arts into, and contributes to, corporates' commercial success. With a suite of integrated programmes, Business and Arts South Africa encourages mutually beneficial partnerships between business and the arts in order to grow SHARED VALUE. Business and Arts South Africa was founded in 1997 as a joint initiative of the Department of Arts and Culture and the business sector, as a public/private partnership.