In the early parts of SA’s democracy, there was a substantial exercise to involve civil society in putting forward its ideas for the types of society it wanted.  This was also the case in the arts.  Nationally, the process known as ACTAG (The Arts and Culture Task Group) took place and in the Western Cape WESTAG took place (the only province to do its own policy development programme).   While its arguable if anything but a little of the material gathered from these extensive, time consuming and democratic exercises found themselves into the official policy documents, they are nevertheless important documents which offer some glimpse of a vision which the artistic community had about the types of policies and changes they needed in their sectors.   The following items are drawn largely from the visual arts sections of the ACTAG document and the WESTAG document and offer some areas where VANSA (or other bodies in visual arts) may be involved in the future.

For purposes of this document visual arts/culture will refer all forms of visual culture including design and crafts.

Is the organizations primary function to monitor artists right to freedom of expression and to promote the visual arts in respect of the best conditions, political, material and educational ?

Some areas where this may take place are

1.    Audience Development
a.    educating audiences about visual culture at school level and promoting appreciation of visual culture at an adult level) to build markets for visual artists and their work
b.    Lobby for specialist journals and publications and for better distribution of these especially in specialist book shops and at libraries and schools also better support for existing publications
2.    Greater Opportunities for artists
a.    Ensure information is distributed around competitions and more especially looking into the selection processes around international bienalles and the review of existing relationships with bienalles and our DAC
b.    Promoting greater funding allocations for local and national art expos/bienalles/competitions etc,
c.    Promote public arts programming and taking art to people
d.    Promote the status of visual arts and related strands as “employment and generators of wealth in economy” and monitor around these
e.    Promote visual arts role as in developmental strategy at a local, provincial and national level (best practise, models from elsewhere)
f.    Promoting collectives and models for collectives to be formed
g.    Recognition of “National Living Treasure” amongst artists – awards, support, opportunities to share with others ?
h.    Lobby for a directory of artists, crafters and designers and an art bank (self funded state agency purchasing and renting art for display in private and public buildings) also employment opportunity bank and agency? See ACTAG) Where these should be based is recommended as the national arts museum in the WESTAG doc.
i.    Studio and living spaces in cities/towns for artists from other areas and internationally.
j.    Shared facilities for collectives of artists for use in easily accessible areas
k.    Recognition of arts therapy? (Is this recognized yet ?)
3.    Promoting education of arts critics and monitoring ethics of art critics (and helping to formulate what would these may be?)
4.    Lobbying for greater inclusion of visual arts in the media (print, electronic radio and TV)
5.    Assisting in promoting less Eurocentric models of categorizing visual culture (eg where crafts and visual arts separated)
6.    Promote the idea that tourism strategies should have a greater emphasis on visual arts
7.    Promote (around?) 1% of building costs to artworks (and to get examples of how this done elsewhere – learnings and pitfalls)
8.    Promoting a network of expertise in arts conservation and promotion to be supported by state
9.    Monitoring that indigenous art and artists and art forms not previously recognized are being adequately supported
10.    Monitor and promote the creation of local manufacturers of art materials including paints and paper
11.    Lobby for lowering of import duties on art supplies and books
12.    Lobbying for greater exhibiting opportunities eg. traveling exhibitions and the support of co-op galleries.  WESTAG doci talks about setting up a traveling  exhibition service under the national gallery – these should be appropriate and linked to educational programmes
13.    Monitoring State institutions and parastatals
a.    Monitoring the National Arts Council and its allocation of funds for visual arts
b.    Monitoring state visual institutions and lobby for greater inclusively (“cater for and work more directly with artists”) etc.
14.    Promoting greater allocation of funds
a.    Ensuring more funds for institutions of national arts towards the growth of their collections and monitoring that these funds are spent equitably and strategically by the institutions in question.
b.    Lobbying for funds for the development of other collections (including archives) of national importance
c.    Monitoring the corporate involvement in visual arts and providing BASA and other bodies info so it can increase awareness into finances going into visual arts
d.    Monitoring funding at a local and provincial level for visual arts and lobbying for great support and more rigorous mechanisms of response and support
e.    Lobbying for the set up of residencies overseas supported by the SA govnt
f.    Reserve bank to be more accommodating on goods on exhibitions for more than 90 days ? (just crafts? WESTAG)
15.    Arts Education
a.    Monitoring the work of Create SA in visual arts education
b.    Monitor provincial and national education governments promotion of arts education at a level of schools
c.    Monitor arts educational bodies and give a review of their activities
d.    Promote greater access to education in visual culture – in order to increase entrants into the field as practitioners and for audience development
e.    Lobby and monitor for the promotion of ongoing education for practitioners
f.    Promote funding for artists to work temporarily in educational institutions (eg residencies in schools and tertiary institutions)
g.    Promoting greater support for the arts educational aspects of museums
16.    Promoting greater tax reform policies to stimulate private sector and individuals to support the arts
a.    Tax deductibility of donations to museums and arts training institutions
b.    Tax incentives introduced for bequests etc
c.    Allowing tax income to be “averaged over a period of 3 years ro present one off tax payments after major show (see page 252 of ACTAG)
d.    VAT on artworks scrapped
e.    Tax concessions, deductions and rebates for corporates and private sponsorship of arts related events and products as well as for the collecting of art – to generate income for artists and stimulate the economy.
17.    Promoting legislation to support the above as well as specific legislation around :
a.    The status of artists in terms of medical aid, taxation, unemployment funds, disability grants and pension schemes,– ie should have access to acceptable social security and to collective bargaining rights
b.    Copyright legislation (right to be recognized as creator of original works – right of attribution - and to project ones work from unauthorized sale and use as well) the copyright needs to vest in the artist and not the owner
c.    Moral rights include rights  of work not to be mutilated and altered or distorted without artists permission and should be enshrined in legislation
d.    Resale royalty on works sold
e.    Artists rights (healthy and safe) working environment,  freedom from censorship. Access to all spheres of management practices etc

The following from the WESTAG document are also possible aims of a body of this nature.

•    Affirm contribution of Visual arts, crafts and designers
•    Freedom of expression and creativity free from interference and to promote climate of optimal conditions for this right to be realized and exercised
•    Promote access to resources and facilities for both production and appreciation of Visual culture broadly
•    Monitor bodies which are there to conservation, promote and revitalization of visual heritage
•    Encourage and promote excellence in all forms of visual arts, crafts and design and its importance in society
•    Promote facilitation and exchange of cultural experiences and ideas across linguistic, national and international boundaries

WESTAG also promoted the idea of national and regional co-ordinating structures ? relationships with existing bodies eg Crafts and Design Councils, NAC, DAC etc.
As well as the formation, extension and transformation of existing associations to “facilitate research, information and distribution of resources” ? VANSA?

WESTAG also recommended a national Crafts Service center while ACTAG recommended a national craft museum which would work with the national crafts council proposed.  There was a call for greater co-ordination between ministries of arts trade and industry, tourism and environmental affairs and national education in respect to crafts and design

The WESTAG document also has an extensive section on Design which is useful in respect to a broad range of design related issues and structures.

Both documents played a great emphasis on Arts centres and for nodes of arts practise (including viewing existing structures eg Museums as nodes of cultural production)  as spaces for education and training and as local museums and galleries.  This calls for greater co-ordination with the newly forming arts center network.

There were calls for surveys in all province of practitioners, media and impact on environment and economy and there is now a need to establish what percentage of state resources and NAC resources are allocated to visual arts since change.