via ArtThrob.co.za:
Networking needs time: Vansa Western Cape
by Chad Rossouwhttp://www.vansawesterncape.org.za
Vansa, the Visual Arts Network of South Africa, has been around for a couple of years, but it always seemed to be all talk and no action. Of course, this is no surprise. Any organisation that relies on voluntary work, works slowly. So while as a national body it has achieved a few things, the impact, unlike that of its performing arts cousin Pansa, has yet to be felt.
Vansa is divided up into regional committees with one each in the Western Cape, Free State, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.These operate separately under one umbrella constitution. The Western Cape committee recently set itself up as a Section 21 company (Non-Profit Organisation), and secured funding from the Western Cape Department of Economic Development. With this financial boost they have been able to start making their presence felt in the local community, driven in part by the hiring of a paid Project Manager. This can be seen in their group emails which provide interesting news and listings, and the new quarterly print newsletter.
Reflecting their more active role, Vansa Western Cape has launched an interactive website: http://www.vansawesterncape.org.za. The site itself is one of the most navigable sites I have come across. Nothing fancy, but also nothing distracting. The design is clean, using a single bright red to break up the monochrome. The text is legible, with a widely spaced but smart sans-serif font. The content is what lets the site down, though this is mostly because the organisation is young, and the site younger yet.
Besides the standard About and Contact page, almost every company is trying to embrace the Spirit of Web 2.0, where interactivity, dynamic content and user-generated text are the buzz-words. It is supposedly good for business, and piles of websites now have the CEO blogging about Insurance or young parents discussing nappies. It probably is good for business too, if you can generate enough user confidence. People, it would seem, are the weakest link.
Vansa Western Cape has tried to generate this style of website by attaching a Profile section in which users can upload images, a bio and a CV to the site, as a central resource for artists. Here they have experienced the standard block: people just aren't interested. So while their intentions are admirable, not financial, the arts community hasn't been quick to bite, and the section contains only two profiles, one being that of the Project Manager herself. It's a pity, because this isn't writing poetry for Nescafé, it is something which could be beneficial. The lack of involvement is in part because of the notable reticence and resistance to change of the art world, but also in part the pitfall of a young organisation that hasn't built up the trust of the people yet.
With time and exposure, this could be an excellent project and a useful site. Unfortunately, it's up to us to make it work.
Comments