Business Day/BASA Awards winners

Nakedi Chiloane, First Lady Zanele Mbeki, Mulligan Pearce and Braam Wessels from Telkom. Picture by Nic Voutsas

As sponsor of the event, Anglo American hosted the awards on Monday, 26 May 2008, at the Johannesburg Park Station, demonstrating its philosophy of sustained engagement with all facets of our society. Focusing on mutually beneficial business-arts partnerships during 2007, the awards were presented to various businesses in South Africa by the First Lady Zanele Mbeki.

Nominees and winners

In the category Best Use of a Commission of New Art, which recognises those sponsors who have had the vision to support the creation of new, original work in any arts medium and to use the commission effectively, nominations went to Absa for commissioning of four new South African plays, premiered at Aardklop Festival; Rand Merchant Bank for The Thinkers and Sandton Central Management District for Sandton Central Illumination Project “The Why Men”. The award was presented to Sandton Central Management District for Sandton Central Illumination Project “The Why Men”.

Nominated in the First Time Sponsor category were Coal Stove Productions for “Off the Shelf”; Intel Corporation for Intel Centrino Roadshow; Talk Radio 702 for Africa Remix; and Tsogo Sun for ll Teatro and the South African premier of The Lion King. The award was presented to Tsogo Sun for II Teatro and SA premiere of The Lion King.

Increasing Access to the Arts focuses on those sponsors who have helped bring the arts to people who might not otherwise have access to them. Nominees were Cell C for Cell C Gospel Festival; Distell for Takeaway Theatre's ‘Die Liefdeskind'; Exclusive Books for Homebru; Fairheads Trust Company for the Clanwilliam Arts Development Project and Standard Bank Limpopo for ‘Double 07'. The award was presented to Exclusive Books for Homebru.

The International Sponsorship category recognises those businesses sponsoring SA arts abroad, or bringing an international arts project into SA, giving our public access to work it would not normally see. The nominees were Mercedes Benz SA for the Mercedes Benz Arts Award; Rand Merchant Bank for The Magic Flute; and Telkom SA for The Lion King. The award was presented to Telkom SA for The Lion King

Nominations for Long Term Development - a category designed to recognise companies that have not only committed to but developed sponsorship of an arts organisation or project over 3 or more years -went to MTN for the MTN Art Collection Project; Nando's SA for Art in Nando's restaurants; Pick n Pay for The Zama Dance School in Gugulethu; Spier Holdings (The Africa Centre) for the Spier Contemporary; and Standard Bank for the Standard Bank African Art Collection at the University of the Witwatersrand. Two awards were made to, Pick n Pay for The Zama Dance School in Gugulethu and Standard Bank for the Standard Bank African Art Collection at the University of Witwatersrand.

Nominations for Media Sponsorship, for consistent support given by electronic or print media to the arts went to Die Burger for Suidoosterfees 2007; Independent Newspapers for The Mercury Durban Theatre Awards; Kaap-Raaport for the Kaap-Raaport Korekompetisie at the Suidoosterfees and Talk Radio 702 for Africa Remix. The award was presented to Talk Radio 702 for Africa Remix.

The category Single Project focuses on an outstanding sponsorship or a series of projects with one organisation, and the nominees were Bell Dewar & Hall for Artist Proof Studio; Rand Merchant Bank for The Magic Flute and Sandton Central Management District for Sandton Central Illumination Project “The Why Men”. The award was made to Rand Merchant Bank for The Magic Flute

Smaller companies with 1200 full time employees and an annual turnover of no more than R10million, who give vital support to arts projects, fall into the category Sponsorship by a Small Business. Nominees were Coal Stove Productions for ‘Off the Shelf'; Intdev Internet Technologies for Night of a 1000 Drawing; and Zetasatsi Trading Services cc for Masakhane Arts and Culture Youth Festival. The award was presented to Coal Stove Productions for ‘Off the Shelf'.

Nominations in the category Sponsorship in Kind, where a company gives non-financial but essential support to the arts, went to Deneys Reitz Inc. for pro bono work with arts and cultural organizations; Fine Music Radio 101.3 for Camera Tinta Barocca Music Charitable Trust ; Primi World for Primi Live; and Vukile Property Fund for the National Eisteddfod Academy Di Konokono Festival. The award was presented to Primi World for Primi Live.

The Strategic Sponsorship category looks at the best use of a sponsorship programme as an integral part of the sponsor's overall marketing strategy. Nominated were Cell C for Cell C Gospel Festival; Exclusive Books for Homebru; and Intel Corporation for Intel Centrino Roadshow. The award went to Cell C for the Cell C Gospel Festival.

One of the most popular areas for arts sponsorship is that which involves education and young people. In the category Youth Sponsorship, the nominees were Black Like Me for Field Band Foundation; Santam for Santam Child Art; Standard Bank for the Standard Bank National Schools Festival of Drama and Arts; TBWA\Hunt Lascaris for Room 13; and Total SA for Sibikwa Community Theatre. The award was presented to TBWA\Hunt Lascaris for Room 13.

The Barloworld ARTWORKS Mentor of the Year Award launched in 2005 with support of Barloworld. The programme is underway in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, with plans to roll out countrywide. The award goes to business volunteers working directly with arts organisations, sharing skills and expertise to address challenges specific to that arts organisation. The mentoring relationship demonstrates commitment and care, bringing real benefit to the mentored arts organisation, and is as much an enjoyable growth and learning experience for mentor as mentored arts organisation.

Nominees were Gillian Crawford mentoring at Artist Proof Studio; Eugenie Drakes mentoring at the Trevor Huddleston Centre; Krisen Govender mentoring the Sibikwa Community Theatre; Carlton Hood mentoring District Six Museum; Gail Lemmert mentoring the National Children's Theatre; Gordon Massie mentoring The Africa Centre; Gary Ninow mentoring Robin Opperman of the Umcebo Trust; Gregory David Wallis mentoring three designers at the Ifa Lethu Heritage Collection and Carolynne Waterhouse mentoring the South African Ballet Theatre. Two awards were made: Gillian Crawford mentoring Kim Berman/Cara Walters at Artist Proof Studio and Gail Lemmert mentoring Joyce Levinsohn at the National Children's Theatre.

The Chairman's Premier Award is made at the discretion of the Chairman of Business & arts South Africa, and recognises sustained and extraordinary commitment to the arts in South Africa. The award went to Nando's SA, a company that has increasingly, through an innovative and effective investment in the arts, created a legacy beyond shareholder returns. While consistently identifying its brand as a local offering within a globalised context, Nando's SA has adopted a philosophy that considers its consumers and adapts to accommodate different markets.

Judges

The judging panel included Darryl Accone, writer and journalist; Gordon Cook, Vega School of Advertising; Clive Grinaker, CEO of Navitute Sponsorship; Andrew Human, MD, The Loerie Awards; Gianni Mariano, director Mastrantonio; Sizakele Marutlulle, advertising consultant; Ivan May, marketing consultant; Welcome Msomi, chairman of Welcome Msomi Gateway; Fiona Ramsay, actor and media personality; Peter Vundla, executive deputy chairman AMB Capital; and Annie Williamson, sponsorship and marketing consultant. Courtney Mitchell of Grant Thornton monitored the voting process and verified the validity of the results.