Arts neglected appallingly

THE article “Bringing down walls in classical sound” (DD, February 1) by Barbara Hollands refers.

Although the Eastern Cape is part of South Africa, annually it keeps losing its artists to other provinces. Tons of creative talent flocks to the socalled big cities in pursuit of a better living.

In the process the Eastern Cape is left even drier. Of the “big three destinations” Johannesburg (Gauteng) is the front-runner, then comes Cape Town (Western Cape) and Durban (KwaZulu-Natal).

But I don’t blame any of the green-pasture-seeking artists. It is the Eastern Cape department of sport, recreation, arts and culture that is failing them. Seriously, the Eastern Cape continuously fails its artists, mostly in terms of a lack of support. The Eastern Cape might as well be considered as a feeder academy for “the big three”. The art scenes in Cape Town and Johannesburg are light years ahead of the Eastern Cape’s – even when many of the artists who bring the sparks of life to those cities, in fact, hail from the Eastern Cape.

This is simply because of the lack of facilities or resources being misused. Artists resort to shifting shore and thereby enrich the economies of other provinces in the process.

Not so many years ago there was a multi-million project for building a Hamburg art residency. Can anyone tell me what happened to it?

Now, not long ago, I read something about a Mdantsane boxing museum project being approved. Can anyone update me on what happened to that?

Meanwhile in Johannesburg you have your Bag Factories, Assemblages and more. In Cape Town, there are your Greatmore art studios and more.

I’m not sure if it is the leadership in the Eastern Cape that lacks the vision or ability to take a firm stance on the arts and plough into it, or if it’s just fate. Or, is it the way that the arts tree is supposed to take shape? Surely not! — Mandla Malandela, via e-mail