NEW VANSA WEBSITE

Message from the Visual Arts Network of South Africa (VANSA) team to all visual artists:

“VANSA is proud to introduce you to a better, brighter, more useful website with an unprecedented number of exciting new work, funding and other opportunities accompanying out site going ‘live’. The result of an extended period of research and consideration of industry needs, we hope that you like it as much as we do. The site replaces the two existing VANSA websites to provide a single, authoritative platform for accessing information about all sorts of opportunities in our industry (with a Calendar of deadlines), professional practice resources, industry research and the burning issues that we face as a sector. It also includes an industry map for South African contemporary art where you can get an overview of the infrastructure that drives our sector, from museums and galleries through to project spaces, arts schools and consultancies.

The website also incorporates linkage to our new ‘sister site’ for professional practice resources – ARTRIGHT - developed together with a variety of partners, including the WITS School of Arts, Webber Wentzel Attorneys, the Goethe Institute and the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO). And a big thank-you to Brendan Copestake, the development manager for this important project, who has put in many hours of (often unpaid) time to bring it to fruition.

Many thanks to the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Recreation and Culture for supporting the development of the site, and all of the individuals and organisations that share our vision for a sharper, more connected and more open sector, and the unique and - at times - uncomfortable contribution that it makes to building a society in a complex process of transition and change. And enormous thanks to Audrey Anderson, our on-line communication/database person, for the sleepless nights and frustrations that accompany any new project.

Please send your thoughts – positive and negative – on the new site to Audrey at communications@vansa.co.za. And go to our membership section to join and strengthen a dynamic network of visual arts professionals who are changing the face of the visual arts in South Africa.

Our next mailout will also introduce you to our new and improved format for email communication with the industry – in the meantime, please browse through the Opportunities section for all of the latest information on local and international work and employment opportunities, funding deadlines, competitions, residencies, learning opportunities, networking events and calls/commissions.

We would like to dedicate the site to the memory of Goddy Leye, who passed away suddenly on Friday the 19th of February 2011.” - The VANSA Team