From the Director's desk
Brendan Bell
There are several consequences to the Gallery resulting from the Msunduzi Municipality being under administration.
No capital funding was allocated in the financial year beginning July 2010. As a result, we have no Municipal funds with which to acquire art works for the permanent collection. Operating funds are released on a month-by-month basis, 1/12th at a time. All requests for expenditure, of whatever nature, must be approved by the Provincial Intervention Team. Printing hard copies of the Outline, for example, was not deemed essential expenditure, and in any case, at a cost of over R6 000,00 for printing and postage, the 1/12th allocation in our printing budget is not enough.
Every aspect of Municipal expenditure is being monitored and questioned and we cannot say we are the only section under scrutiny - it is across the board. Whilst we view this as a necessary step in trying to re-establish the Municipality on a sound financial footing, it is all tediously bureaucratic and therefore time-consuming.
Questions have been raised about the legality of the Gallery's Deed of Trust in terms of various Acts regarding the management and financial control of municipalities. The issue is currently under discussion.
On a more cheerful note, we are pleased to have a new senior management structure, which has to date been interested, supportive and concerned about their areas of responsibility. We are grateful to Dr Julie Dyer and Mr Kwenza Khumalo.
Even more encouraging is that we have a new project, with ample funding, to get our teeth into. We have been invited to work on a flagship project for the National Arts Council. The brief is to put together a researched exhibition on contemporary craft in KwaZulu-Natal with an accompanying publication. Our aim is to source items which show exceptional technical facility, originality and contemporaneity. This is not as easy a task as one may imagine. There are many issues which need to be dealt with, such as the place of traditional craft produced exclusively for domestic consumption, the extent to which utilitarian items move beyond mere functionality, the boundaries between curio and craft, and the perennial debate around art versus craft.
The project has been designed as a journey of discovery, with field trips to various areas of the province, giving all professional staff members an opportunity to travel. These have provided salutary lessons. The conditions under which crafters produce are often very difficult, especially in rural areas. The need to feed family and self are paramount, and not conducive to creativity in the form of product development. Lack of access to materials and markets is problematic, but despite the almost insurmountable obstacles, beautiful craft is still produced.
Many of the suitable items we have found result from interventions of individuals and organisations whose patronage, in the best sense of the word, keeps craft production in the province alive.
During field trips we visit groups and individuals, where possible interviewing crafters at their places of work, usually at home. We document their crafting history, their work, and photograph them in situ. We either purchase examples of work produced or commission pieces. Many of the items will become part of the Gallery's permanent collection.
We are all required to keep a journal of field trips in which we participate. Excerpts of journal entries will be included in the publication, as will more formal documentation of the crafters and their work. An important part of the publication will be providing contact details for outlets where items can be sourced.
A project of this nature can never pretend to be exhaustive and all-encompassing. We are aware that as museum workers we bring a specific bias to our choices. We are conscious that we will provide a snapshot of craft production in KwaZulu-Natal at a particular time. Despite the limitations, however, we are confident that the crafters, our staff, the Gallery and the National Arts Council will benefit.
So.... that is what keeps us energized during a difficult period in the Gallery's life. We are very aware of the need to maintain our excellent reputation as an active and engaged art museum. We will do all we can to ensure this continues. We are very grateful to our Board and to the Friends of the Tatham Art Gallery for their ongoing support - and for bailing us out whilst we had to wait for funds to arrive from the National Arts Council. We are also grateful to the Council for its confidence in us, that the Gallery has proven itself to be an institution of excellence built up over many years.
Brendan Bell