The craft industry in South Africa: a review of ten years of democracy

African Arts, Winter, 2004 by Joseph Gaylard

The craft industry has seemed to promise much to a transforming South Africa. A sprawling and highly varied collection of activities that straddle the first and third world economies, the cram industry is peculiarly representative of the more general challenges and opportunities faced by South Africa ten years into democracy. In a country that competes with Brazil for the dubious distinction of having the widest gap between rich and poor in the world (a gap that continues to widen), the craft sector appeared to offer an opportunity not only to deliver large numbers of impoverished people into the promised land of "A Better Life for All," (1) but also to afford politically attractive possibilities of creating a new cultural identity in the context of globalization (Figs. 1 and 2).

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Yet transformation has in many respects been a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the country's rapid transition from pariah state to model democracy has led to a massive influx of tourists. A favorable exchange rate and South Africa's substantial and diverse natural and cultural assets have lured foreign visitors curious about--and sympathetic to--the process of transformation: in short, ideal consumers for local craft products. On the other hand, the "South African miracle" also brought with it some hard realities for local producers--most significantly, a sudden influx of successful craft producers and entrepreneurs from the rest of Africa, supplying large quantities of cheap, aggressively positioned craft and curio produce. Having little or no prior exposure to international consumers and markets, and a weak entrepreneurial base, local producers have been poorly positioned to compete effectively with this skilled, energetic, and resourceful wave of legal and illegal immigration. (2)

The African National Congress government's first significant piece of policy development pertaining to the arts appeared in the 1996 White Paper for Arts, Culture, and Heritage. (3) The document emphasized this sector's potential for creating jobs and income, together with the need for government to play a coordinating and promotional role within it. As a result, the Department of Art and Culture (DAC), in its 1997 Cultural Industries Growth Strategy, formulated "craft" as one of the four pillars of potential economic growth, alongside music, publishing, and film. (4)

The fundamental obstacle to the growth of the industry that this (and subsequent) research identified has been the absence of any meaningful interface between producers and markets. This is seen in both the inability of the majority of craft producers to adapt their work, modes of organization, and production to market demands and opportunities, and the fact that the majority of craft producers struggle to eke out a living far removed--both geographically and conceptually--from real or potential markets. The poor performance of the sector has been compounded by the gradual fragmentation and loss, in the course of the twentieth century, of cultural traditions and practices. Initially, this loss was fuelled by a migrant labor system that encouraged highly skilled male crafters to seek employment in the mines and the cities. But it can also be ascribed in part to the impact of Christianity on rituals commonly associated with the production of beadwork and other indigenous art forms. In the face of this erosion of cultural capital, the creative foundation for producing saleable crafts has been considerably reduced.

Over the last five years, a range of public and private sector initiatives has been launched to address these problems (Figs. 3a and 3b). One of the DAC's biggest achievements to date has been the securing of significant funding (over R64 million, approximately $10 million, during the course of 2001-2003) from the National Treasury's Poverty Alleviation program. These funds have been applied to a wide range of projects and initiatives within the sector under the mantle of the Investing in Culture program. An important area of intervention has been the development of projects aimed at retrieving cultural heritage and traditional craft practices (Fig. 4 and Cover). To date, the most notable example has been the Northern Province Special Project, which sponsored researchers to investigate traditional practices and mount an innovative exhibition aimed at schools and communities.

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Attention has also been given to fostering cohesion and cooperation among craftspeople through the promotion of industry and networking events. A key initiative in this regard has been the Craft Imbizo, (5) an annual event (inaugurated in 2001) aimed at bringing the South African craft producers and entrepreneurs together with a view to sharing experience, while at the same time affording the government opportunities to consult with the sector on development strategies. Events like these have also been used to showcase the successful development of craft products and projects and to provide marketing and direct-selling opportunities for producers. Further spin-offs of the Investing in Culture fund include the establishment of EzamaXhosa, a subsidized retail outlet in Port Elizabeth that connects Eastern Cape craftspeople with local and international buyers; and the production of an information directory and handbook for craft producers by the Craft Council of South Africa that provide crafters with comprehensive information on business development, methods of access to government support agencies, and a detailed database of craft development organizations, service providers, associations, and materials suppliers.