2013 Business Day BASA Awards finalists announced

This year's finalists offer a fascinating snapshot of the varied ways businesses of different sizes can work with art projects that cover everything from visual arts to music, film, dance, architecture and much more.

Strong contenders

From the small PENMAC Audio Visual, which is nominated for a Small Business Award, to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, whose work with the Three2Six School for Refugee Children has seen it nominated for an Increasing Access to the Arts Award, the spectrum of business and arts partnerships celebrated by this year's nominations is impressive.

A leading contender is Rand Merchant Bank, which this year has earned nominations in the Long Term Partnership Award category for the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company's Instrumental Training and Development project, as well as two nods in the Youth Development Award category, for the Durban Music School and the Dance XChange Project.

Another multiple nominated finalist is PPC, which earned three nominations - Innovation Award, Long Term Sponsorship Award and Youth Development Award, the latter two for the PPC Young Concert Sculptors Award and the first for Re-imagine Concrete: Suzaan Heyns Spring/Summer 2012.

National radio station, Ukhozi FM, got two nods (Innovation Award and Media Sponsorship Award) for Unyaka Wesethembiso Season 2.

Diverse businesses nominated for projects in various categories include Bidvest Group, Adidas, Estee Lauder Companies, the MTN Group and Arcelor Mittal.

Celebrating positive partnerships

"What we are clearly seeing with the nominations for several big and medium sized enterprises is the ROI that partnering with an arts project can bring," comments Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts South Africa. "This is a strong signal to South African business that working with an arts project is far more than a feel-good exercise but brings shared value."

The organisers of the only awards celebrating business and arts partnerships in South Africa report seeing a noticeable increase in entries in 2013. Just under 170 arts and business projects entered this year, an increase on the 2012 figure.

Chairman of the judging panel, Dr Andrew Human, notes the evolution in the range and quality of entries this year. "There is definitely far more recognition of the mutual benefit and value that arts can lend to business, as opposed to seeing a partnership with the arts as a charitable sponsorship. BASA is also looking at the strategic value that the arts can play in business, and that is reflected in the kind of entries we are starting to get."

"I was surprised by the scope of work," comments judging panel newcomer Fikile Moeti aka FIX. "It makes you realise how much is happening, how much people are doing and how much originality is being applied. Art is not only sitting in galleries. It's everywhere - in the CBD and out on the streets."

High-profile adjudication

A total of 12 categories were open for entry in the 16th Annual Business Day BASA Awards. The Art Champion and Chairman's Premier Award will also be presented at a gala ceremony in Johannesburg on 26 August 2013.

The judges for the 2013 BASA Awards are CEO of The Loerie Awards Dr Andrew Human (chairman); media consultant and editor of Destiny Man Kojo Baffoe; Sunday Independent arts critic Mary Corrigall and CEO of the Mastrantonio Group Giovanni Mariano. Three new judges who joined this year's panel are television host and arts advocate Dali Tambo, 5fm DJ Fikile Moeti and experiential marketing director at Ogilvy and Mather, Thresho Selesho.

The independent panel of judges evaluated the success of each partnership in achieving its objectives and in bringing genuine value and benefit to both partners. The awards are audited by Grant Thornton.

For more information, go to www.basa.co.za.