Plascon’s sponsorship-in-kind set to brighten up inner city arts project

Last edited: September 18, 2012

Posted by Business and Arts South Africa

A recent donation of paint by Plascon is set to significantly impact a community arts project being run by the Urban Arts Platform (UAP) out of the Ansteys Building in Joburgâ€™s inner city.

The paint manufacturer, which has been a member of Business and Arts South Africa for five years, has donated the paint needed to turn the fourth floor space in Ansteys into a vibrant space for music, drama and art activities for children living in the building as well as those in the greater inner-city community.

The initiative to use the arts to provide children living Ansteys with extra-curricular activities came from Ntombi Lushaba, an Ansteys resident and a member of the music group, Afrika Mamas.

Known as Ansteys Kids, Lushabaâ€™s project has been running without a proper venue in the historic Art Deco building - which UAP (a multidisciplinary arts organisation committed to the upliftment of the inner-city community) also uses as its base and hopes to reinvigorate.

â€œUrban Arts Platform was inspired by the passion and dedication shown by Ntombi,â€ says UAP Director Leigh Nudelman. â€œWe asked if she would like to join our organisation and if she would like Ansteys Kids to be part of UAP. In exchange, UAP would offer support and assistance, helping Ntombi on her journey to changing the lives of these inner-city children.â€

With the assistance of Business and Arts South Africa, UAP co-director and â€˜Ansteys 4th Floor Hall Project Dayâ€™ Manager, Gina Cooperman approached Plascon for a donation in kind of paint. This will be for use on a special Project Day to turn Ansteysâ€™ fourth floor into a permanent space for Lushaba and UAP to work with Ansteyâ€™s Kids and children in the community.

â€œThanks to Plasconâ€™s generous donation, we will be able to achieve our goal of turning the 4th floor hall into the wonderful, colourful space it deserves to be,â€ Cooperman says.

For Plascon, a longtime BASA member, the fit was just right.

Says Patrick Seager, Corporate Social Investment & PR Manager at Plascon, â€œHelping the Urban Arts Project was a worthy cause and resulted in a bit of urban regeneration right in the heart of Johannesburg. Plascon, as the biggest paint manufacturer in the country, believes that it is important to support the arts as it is an under-resourced and under-appreciated part of the economy. Paint and art is a natural fit and will continue to support such initiatives.â€

Seager also points to the importance of Business and Arts South Africaâ€™s Supporting Grants programme in the work that it does with different arts projects in various parts of the country â€“ especially in terms of adding value to Sponsorship in Kind or financial contributions to an arts organisation with a grant that can support the project and leverage the relationship between sponsors and the recipient.

â€œBASA has also supported some of the projects we have been involved in with a supporting grant,â€ comments Seager. â€œThis helps the recipient complete their projects where often the funding is difficult to obtain.â€

To apply for a BASA Supporting Grant, both the arts applicant and the sponsor must complete the application forms, which are designed to encourage the two partners to work together and identify areas of potential benefit. Business and Arts South Africa allocates funds to the project once it has assessed how the partnership benefits both the sponsor and the recipient. Go to www.basa.co.za for more information and grant forms.

About Business and Arts South Africa NPC:

Business and Arts South Africa NPC is an internationally recognised South African development agency which incorporates the arts into, and contributes to, corporates' commercial success. With a suite of integrated programmes, Business and Arts South Africa NPC encourages mutually beneficial partnerships between business and the arts. Business and Arts South Africa NPC was founded in 1997 as a joint initiative of government and the business sector, to secure the future development of the arts industry in South Africa, through increased corporate sector involvement. Established as a Non Profit Company, Business and Arts South Africa NPC is accountable to both government and its business members.