Today, May 24, 2010, marks the 11th birthday of artSMart and it’s a good time to pause and reflect over the history of the site so far. – Caroline Smart, Editor (pictured)Way back in 1998, when funding for D'ARTS - the print magazine I produced for the Durban Arts Association - looked as if it was coming to an end after 21 years, Colin Muller (friend and D’ARTS webmaster) suggested that the only effective way forward was to create my own online magazine. In this way, I could be in control of the publication’s destiny and ensure that information continued to flow and publicise the work of KZN arts practitioners.
I still remember almost the exact point and time at which this earth-shattering suggestion entered my universe. We were travelling with friends up to St Lucia to review a game lodge and Colin's call to my cellphone with his suggestion changed my life somewhere outside Eshowe!
Being highly challenged in this technology, this was a daunting process and one I was very nervous to approach. However, Colin encouraged, explained, instructed and cajoled with the utmost patience. Without his support, artSMart certainly would never have swung into action the following year.
The distinctive artSMart logo was Colin Muller’s idea. “I thought that making the "A" out of wire would create a handy reference to a much-loved local art and craft form,” he explained at the time. "People in KZN have been making wire cars, windmills, rolling drummers and such for a long time. The more recent explosion of wire work as a craft industry has built on something that goes much further back. I think I probably still have somewhere the piece of wire I bent into an "A" and then scanned to make the logo.
“It's been a delight and a privilege to be backstage at artSMart from day one, watching Caroline create the festival of news and archives which the site has become,” he continues. “artSMart is a great show - long may it run.”
To upgrade the site, Colin moved artSMart from its original format to the blog it is now, where I have the capacity to edit published articles, which is very useful if I’ve been given incorrect information. The new format also allows this technically-challenged individual the joy of being able to load photographs to accompany the stories.
Now spending a large part of each year in Australia, Colin is moving away from web hosting and it was with great regret that I accepted his decision to request that artSMart find another webmaster.
However, there was the perfect person waiting in the wings and at the beginning of February, 2010, artSMart officially moved into the care of its new webmaster, Les Juby of Webpro in Durban.
“We at Prosoft Webpro are proud to be receiving the baton for artSMart from Colin Muller, who has made a considerable contribution to the promotion of the arts through his website technology over a number of years,” says Les Juby. “At Webpro we have a policy of supporting community undertakings that are well structured and trying to make a difference.
“artSMart certainly makes a difference to the promotion of the arts in KZN. Widely respected for its integrity and credibility, it is the largest multi-disciplinary site in the province. The statistics and wide-ranging international reach of visitors to artSMart show that the site is obviously a valuable form of archival resource around the world. We certainly look forward to this opportunity to help build and expand the influence of this website.”
artSMart is my voluntary contribution to the arts in KZN. I don’t have money for sponsorship or funding but I do have energy and a wonderful network of people who send me information on a regular basis. This article takes the form of saying thank you to anyone who has - or had - anything to do with artSMart, however fleeting or monumental. It’s thanks to the advertisers, reviewers and contributors as well as readers both past, present … and to come! – Caroline Smart
Posts
