(Michelle
Constant, Charl Blignaut & NAF CEO Tony Lankester. Pic by Stephen Penney)
The National Arts Festival and Business and
Arts South Africa (BASA) have announced the Silver Awards for this year’s Arts
Journalism Awards. From this list of ‘finalists’, Gold Award winners, together
with the overall ‘Arts Journalist of the Year’, will be announced in
Grahamstown on July 6, 2014.
“It is heartening to see that our arts
journalists deliver quality work day after day even though some publications
are cutting back on the amount of coverage they give the arts,” says Tony
Lankester CEO of the National Arts Festival. “This augurs well for a future
where digital media is poised to dominate as consumer passion for quality
content remains high. Time has become the single most valuable commodity of our
generation and we’re confident that readers will continue to invest it in
seeking out those who nurture creativity and excellence in their reporting. We
salute those journalists who are determined to keep delivering that creativity
and excellence.”
BASA CEO Michelle Constant echoes this
comment in describing the situation: "The challenge for arts journalists
in this country is growing, as (although digital media offer new platforms) we
are seeing more arts coverage being cut by major newspapers and broadcasters.
We believe that this can only negatively impact on audience support and growth
of the arts. Against these odds, journalists in South Africa continue to offer
excellent coverage that highlights the power of arts in our country.”
Submissions were drawn from across the
media spectrum: text (print and online), images (photography) and audio/video
material (radio, television, podcasts, vodcasts and other digital content).
“These Awards aim to recognise the best in
South African arts journalism, and to celebrate and promote the work of our
journalists, but we also want to challenge, to provoke and to encourage
innovation,” says convenor of the Judging Panel, Prof Chris Thurman. “Linked to
this is the broader question of transformation in the sector; we note with some
concern the lack of representivity and diversity in the pool of entrants (in
terms of age, race, gender and journalistic medium) and, whether or not this is
indicative of industry demographics, we plan to address such concerns in
future. While we were disappointed that the number of entrants was marginally
down from last year, the judging panel once again found ample evidence of the
quality, breadth and depth of local arts journalism.”
The full list of 2014 Silver Award winners
is:
FEATURES: Anna Stielau; Charl Blignaut;
Nick Mulgrew; Matthew Krouse; Rob Boffard; Oliver Roberts and Bruce Dennill.
REVIEWS: Ang Lloyd; Steve Kretzmann; Eugene
Yiga; Matthew Krouse, and Steyn du Toit
NEWS STORY: Charl Blignaut; Yazeed
Kamaldien; Matthew Blackman and J Brooks Spector
PHOTOGRAPHY: Theana Breugem; Sizwe
Ndingane; Alet Pretorius and Jesse Kramer.
Gold Award winners will receive cash
prizes, and the overall Arts Journalist of the Year will be will be invited to
travel with a South African production to an international Festival in the next
year.
These awards are being presented for the
second time in 2014, with entries needing to be published or broadcast in the
2013 calendar year to qualify. In identifying excellence, expertise and
creativity, it is hoped they will promote the practice of arts and cultural
journalism, strengthen its national profile and celebrate its importance,
range, diversity, fluidity and vitality.
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