As the world asks that the role of the artist in society be explained, SA playwright Mike Van Graan says the more pertinent question is what the role of society is towards artists.
The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown lifted the lid on a number of challenges faced by artists, especially in SA, , and one that could not be ignored was a lack of financial support.
While other professionals across sectors had the Unemployment Insurance Fund to fall back on, artists were left stranded.
Van Graan linked this to society’s failure to exercise its role towards artists.
Van Graan spoke on Monday at Collegiate Girls’ High School, where he held a workshop, screened one of his films and held a Q&A session with the school’s Further Studies English pupils.
“The question of the role of the artist is not something we would ask of people in other disciplines,” he said.
“We don’t ask what the role of a plumber or a doctor is.
“We kind of assume that we all know those roles, but the fact that artists are called upon from time to time to say what it is that they do or justify their role has to do with how society sees artists.”
He said it had already been established that artists served multiple roles in society in different contexts, including holding up a mirror to reflect society, commenting on the country or world’s political and socioeconomic climate, speaking truth to power, healing and sometimes serving as an escape from the horrors of everyday life.
“In reflecting , we as artists also document the particular political moment we are going through.
“We are archivers. We play multiple roles simultaneously and not necessarily consciously.”
Van Graan said that, among other roles, artists asserted human beings’ right to enjoy the arts.
“Article 27 of the universal declaration of human rights states that everyone shall have the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community and to enjoy the arts.
“It asserts that it is the fundamental right of people to have access to the arts.
“These are fundamental rights that are premised on the understanding of human beings as being complex and not only physical entities.
“So the role of society is to create conditions in which human beings realise their full potential,” he said.
Yet, with all the roles artists serve, the arts still are not considered a reliable source of income.
As a result, artists, including Van Graan, pursue the arts alongside other income-generating jobs.
Van Graan, who has written more than 30 films, was invited by Collegiate teacher Jessamy Kromhout to address her pupils.
Kromhout said the workshop had been in the pipeline since 2020, but had been delayed by the lockdown.
“It’s so special for us all to finally be here to celebrate good writing and critical thinking,” she said.
“The role of arts and literature is often to look at hard truths.
“We are very fortunate at Collegiate to live in somewhat of a bubble where we are not always exposed to some [harsh] realities of our world and I do think it is one of the responsibilities of art to encourage and force us to look at what we don’t want to look at.”
The school partnered with Fogarty’s Bookshop, the Rother Swain Drama Studio and Nelson Mandela University to host the event.
The evening included the viewing of Van Graan’s film, Some Mothers’ Sons, a commentary on SA’s law vs justice.
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