Speaking on Tuesday at
the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg,
“There is no better way to better capture
the spirit and energy of our new South Africa
than through the arts. Whether it’s through
the lens of a camera, brushstrokes on canvas,
or the embroiderers needle – it is in art
and craft that we give form to our shared
heritage and our future together.” The Minister
was addressing the Justices, invited guests,
and members of the media at a function to
officially hand over 18 large hand-crafted
designs for the Judges Conference Room and
entertainment area.
The panels were created by 12 highly-skilled
embroidery designers from the Northern Cape
who produced panels inspired by San rock paintings,
and 6 equally skilled appliqué designers
from Limpopo who chose representations of
life in Johannesburg. The artworks were commissioned
by the Poverty Relief Programme of the Department
of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
Speaking about the significance of the works,
Minister Van Schalkwyk said: “The artwork
is greatly symbolic – it focuses on creating
connections. It brings the oldest paintings
in Southern Africa (estimated to be between
7000 and 30 000 years old) off the walls of
caves in the Northern Cape, into the inner
sanctum of one of the most important institutions
charting our future. It is also the first
and only art from the Northern Cape in the
Court. By combining geometric carvings with
embroidery – and then displaying them as panels
– the project blurs the lines between art
and craft, using a modern medium to reach
back to the very start of human history. Perhaps
most importantly,the art brings new access
to these ancient designs. For many who may
never have the opportunity to travel to the
caves themselves, these panels bring the art
into a highly visible position within a truly
important public space.”
The Poverty Relief Programme of the Department
has seen more than R836 million invested in
projects since April 1999, and has resulted
in the creation of more than 3,000 permanent
jobs and more than 4,8 million temporary job-days
(equivalent to more than 42000 job opportunities).
Of these job-days, 42% have benefited women
and 22% youth.
Minister Van Schalkwyk also made use of the
opportunity to underline the important links
between the craft sector and tourism in South
Africa: “The WSSD provided a platform for
crafters from across the country to bring
their wares to the attention of the world
– with great success. Globally the annual
trade in crafts is worth about US$35 billion.
The South African share of that market is
just less than 1% - worth about R2 billion
every year to our people, with growth in the
sector at about 8% every year for the last
five years. There is a great link between
tourism and craft - it helps to provide a
really authentic experience of our destination.It
is vitally important to develop the domestic
market for crafts as well, and through programmes
like the Sho’t Left domestic marketing campaign,
since this is Tourism Month, and projects
like this one, we hope to help convince more
South Africans of the quality and style of
local craft offerings.”
Speaking about the importance of deepening
the partnerships between the Department and
the judiciary, the Minister added: “One of
the great challenges that has faced environmental
authorities in South Africa for decades is
the fact that prosecutors and judges were
often not widely exposed to the nuances of
environmental crime. This is why projects
like the Environmental Courts in Hermanus
and Port Elizabeth have been so important
– and successful - in convicting and punishing
environmental criminals.Our new ‘Green Scorpions’
environmental enforcement directorate has
also just completed a week-long workshop with
the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions
to further enhance our partnerships and cooperation.
This artwork is the physical representation
of these links, and our commitment as a Department
to the ‘greening’ of all sectors of South
African society.
