REPORT TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
TUESDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2007
The mandate of the William Humphreys
Art Gallery as a national museum of art is to collect, conserve and hold in
trust for our future generations, the nation’s artistic heritage as part of the
National Estate.
We believe that the Annual Report
for the year ended March 2007 reflects that we have used the annual grant from
the Department of Arts and Culture to best benefit for this purpose. The state
of the institution’s financial affairs is sound and this is confirmed by the
Auditor-General’s unqualified opinion.
In this document we have reported
how we achieved success in terms of our strategic objectives as set out in the
Strategic Plan and would like to summarise and highlight some of these
outcomes.
Transformation of the institution
remains one of the most significant objectives and this principle runs through
all activities at the gallery. We have consciously worked towards establishing
the gallery as a meaningful entity in the community we serve as well as in our
province and the country. We believe that transformation is ongoing and
therefore we cannot report that it is complete. Our activities are aligned with
the national imperatives such as skills transfer, job creation, poverty
alleviation, moral regeneration, social cohesion and the building of a national
identity. The resources and assets of the institution are used to contribute
towards these objectives as we are aware of the enormous role that arts and
culture can play in this regard. All programmes and projects are multi-faceted
and multi-disciplinary and link together and overlap so that they work towards
achieving the common strategic objectives.
Collections are the life blood of
the gallery and although we have been able to spend less than in previous years
on acquisitions we have added a number of significant works to the permanent
collection. Works by established black artists include Dumisani Mabaso, Durant
Sihlali, Sam Nhlengethwa, John Muafangejo, Dumile Feni, Zulu Vuminkosi and
Rochester Mafafo. Other artists have also been added but because the funds that
were reserved by Council for art purchasing have had to be set aside to offset
the institutions liabilities for pension and medical aid as required by the
PFMA, we have had a considerably lower growth rate than in previous years.
These provisions have been created at the expense of the institution’s
strategic objectives and although this was reported in the 2004/2005 financial
year no solution to the problem has been offered by the relevant authorities.
Exhibitions are part of the core
function of the gallery. There are 14 exhibition wings and a varied schedule of
exhibitions was presented which included works from the permanent collection, 9
loan or travelling exhibitions, established artists, emerging artists,
community forums and prison art.
A programme of special outreach
exhibitions consists of South African graphic works from our collection,
worksheets and art-making activities that are taken to schools in the deprived
rural areas of the
The bridging programme that
contributes to Early Childhood Development called Keadumela, has been running
at the gallery for 17 years, remains relevant and continues to assist
pre-school children from the informal settlements in and around
Women development projects have been
run since 2002 and include teaching traditional crafting skills such as
embroidery, beading, fabric painting and mosaic art to unemployed black women
from the disadvantaged sector. These same skills are presented to female
offenders in the Kimberley Correctional Centre and the results have been so
rewarding that our staff have been invited to set up similar projects in the
Correctional Centres at Douglas and Barkly West. It isn’t always easy to
quantify success or outcomes but in one specific case, a woman who started with
this project at the gallery in 2002 has very recently been paid by the
Department of Labour to train female offenders in the Upington Correctional
Centre. She has also been paid by the
A contribution towards youth
development is made by presenting arts and crafts workshops at the gallery
weekly during the school term and during holidays for youths who do not have
access to art making activities.
Male juvenile offenders in the
Kimberley Correctional Centre are instructed by gallery staff in the age old
art of mosaics and a number of offenders have benefited from this project. They
leave the Correctional Centre once they have served their sentences armed with
new skills with which to earn a living and a new sense of self respect.
The Department of Arts and Culture
sponsored the upgrading of the obsolete equipment in the gallery’s auditorium
with Transformation Funding and finally our objective of showcasing locally
produced film is a reality. We believe that WHAGFILM – The Art of African
Cinema is a project that not only promotes our local product but will contribute
to the building of a shared national identity at a time when our youth is in
danger of being overwhelmed by mass-produced
Sponsors and partners are vital to
the institution as it operates under both financial and human resource
constraints. A network of friends and experts helps us to produce outcomes
beyond our capacity in most areas of our operations. It is also important to note
however that not only do we cultivate partners but have worked at being a
significant partner to institutions in our community. Our vision for the future
is to be a centre of excellence of which our city, our province and our country
can be proud.
The financial information has been
presented in the report as per the National Treasury prescriptions. For the
purpose of this hearing and for non-financial readers of the report we have
calculated percentages on rounded off figures of expenditure against the budget.
These percentages will hopefully reflect a clearer picture of expenditure on
core functions balanced against that on admin and statutory expenditure. We
have endeavoured to maintain a reasonable balance between the components of the
budget.
Annual grant
R3 432 000
Staff costs 2 203 000 64.18%
Art Purchases 407 000 11.86
Statutory Expenditure
Insurance 103 000 3.00
Internal Audit 10 000 0.30
External Audit 44 000 1.28
Council and Establishment S&T 63 000 1.84
Annual Report 14 000 0.40
Exhibitions 33 000 0.96
WHAGFILM 116 000 3.38
Special Community Projects 75 000 2.19
Maintenance 168
000 4.90
Admin, goods and services and other
operations 196 000 5.71
In conclusion I would like to voice
my concern that the vision of the
Thank you