BASA Awards winners announced

Surrounded by artworks from the Constitutional Court Art Collection (CCAC), the winners in the 11 judged categories were celebrated, along with the winners of the event's four special awards selected at the discretion of the Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) Board.

Each winner received a unique sculpture by artist Collen Maswanganyi, inspired by the theme of transformation. Maswanganyi created a 'family' of pieces, with each sculpture representing a different family member who has undergone, or is busy undergoing, a transformation of his own.

"We'd like to congratulate all the winners tonight," commented Michelle Constant, BASA's CEO. "By celebrating these business and arts partnerships, we are also paying tribute to the power of the arts, in all its diversity, to be a tool of transformation."

Many different aspects of the arts

Winners ranged from small projects to large-scale ones, and encompass many different aspects of the arts. For instance, the winner of the First Time Sponsor Award was the partnership between the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA) and the Puku Children's Literature Foundation. The partnership had REDISA sponsoring the Puku Story Festival in Grahamstown and Puku Story Competition for teenagers to write stories in isiXhosa with an environmental theme.

This year's International Sponsorship Award was won by Redefine Properties for supporting the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble's tour to the UK, a resounding success on many different levels.

The Sponsorship In Kind Award went to Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, partner of The Magnet Theatre Educational Trust, united by a mission to facilitate access to avenues of empowerment and transformation for historically disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. In particular, the partnership culminated in Magnet's successful application for Section 18A status, contributing to improved sustainability.

The partnership between MayFord Seeds and Apollo Music Trust, Symphony Choir of Johannesburg, and Last Night of the Proms, won the Arts and the Environment Award, supported by Nedbank.

As part of the legacy of the 18th Annual Business Day BASA Awards, BASA worked with the CCAC to facilitate the development of the first iteration of an app that allows all smartphone users to take a tour of this important collection - either on site, or remotely. The Constitutional Court Art Collection App is free, and available for download via the Google Play Store, App Store, or BlackBerry Work.

The full list of winners is:

• Innovation Award: PPC Cement for the Cool Capital PPC Public Bench Project
  
• First Time Sponsor Award: Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA) for the Puku Story Festival
  
• Increasing Access to the Arts Award: Nando's Chickenland for The Chicken Run
  
• International Sponsorship Award: Redefine Properties for the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble - UK Tour
  
• Long Term Partnership Award: Standard Bank of South Africa for the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz
  
• Media Sponsorship Award: SAfm for the SAfm Playwriting Competition
  
• Strategic Project Award: Rand Merchant Bank for War Horse
  
• Small Business Award: African Music Instruments for the Access Music Project
  
• Sponsorship In Kind Award: Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr for The Magnet Theatre Educational Trust's Youth Training and Development Programmes
  
• Development Award: Investec for the Umuzi Academy
  
• Arts and the Environment Award, supported by Nedbank: MayFord Seeds for the In Tune With Nature: The Dutch Evening, Last Night of the Proms, and Symphony Choir Concerts

www.basa.co.za