Basa joins efforts to save the Johannesburg Art Gallery collection with other concerned organisations

The rescue and restoration plan is being driven by the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation and Friends of the Johannesburg Art Gallery. As custodians of the national heritage treasure, the support of the City of Johannesburg is a key factor in ensuring the plan is successfully executed. The City has indicated that it is in favour of a private-public partnership solution.

Spanning multiple stages, the plan includes a preparation phase in order to move the works, followed by an extensive moving of the works to a temporary storage venue at the Ditsong Museum where the works will be digitised and prepared for longer term conservation before they move back to their permanent home.

Says chairperson of Business and Arts South Africa’s board, Zingisa Motloba: “The crisis facing some of our cultural and heritage spaces is of grave concern. The custodianship of the collection of artworks once housed at the majestic Johannesburg Art Gallery has been neglected and now requires all of us playing a role in the cultural and creative spaces as well as business to move towards an urgent solution. We, who play a role in the cultural and creative ecosystem, are the keepers of memory, the writers of dreams and the inspiration of hope and vision. The time has come to bring our collective contribution to the fore.”

As this is a project that requires extensive resources, Basa is rallying its members and network to lend their voices to the cause by contributing to funding and advocacy for the project as well as to sign a petition to drive a social compact for the preservation of Johannesburg’s cultural assets. Time is however of the essence the rainy season intensifies the threat of damage to the works.

Concludes Motloba: “This is a mammoth task that requires us to show up with our heads, hearts, voices and resources to make it a reality. This collection belongs to the people of Johannesburg and South Africa and it is this whole of society solution that is now needed to save a significant and valuable collection for future generations.”

Basa will also join a seminar planned for the new year to form a collaborative plan to expedite the project.