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Over one-third of all South Africans believe the arts are more important than sport in creating a balanced society. They also believe that the government should be spending more money on drama, music and dance. These findings have been published in a groundbreaking survey into arts and culture in South Africa which shatter popular myths about the way many people feel about our country's cultural life.

"This survey will enable us to expand the role the arts play in our communities. The arts have a positive role to play in the regeneration of a city and in encouraging tourism," said Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Dr. Ben Ngubane.

The South African Awareness and Attitudes towards the Arts was commissioned by the Spier Festival Trust in collaboration with the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology.

"The outcome of the survey has been extraordinary," says Mark Dornford-May, artistic director of the Spier Festival Trust. It completely dispels popular myths about the relevance of sport in the majority of South Africans lives," he says.

The survey, conducted by Markinor also showed that the arts were held in very high esteem by the poor, more than half of whom said they wanted greater access to the arts. Those with the strongest feelings are black or earn less than R2 500 a year.

Fieldwork was carried out using face-to-face interviews and a quota sample, nationally representative of 2 000 South African adults were interviewed between 15 August and 11 September 2000. The questionnaire was translated into five languages: Afrikaans, Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa and Tswana.

Perception of the arts was defined from a base of theatre and drama; painting and drawings; dance; sculpture and handicrafts; plays and musicals; ballet; choral music; jazz; opera and classical music concerts.

A staggering 93% wanted their children to be exposed to cultural activities. For every five people interviewed four said they thought there should be greater public funding for the arts with the coloured community leading the pack on this issue.

The survey supports what Spier's visionary owner, Dick Enthoven, has been striving to make the arts accessible to all and involve all communities as performers and audiences.

To achieve this, he established the Spier Festival Trust headed by Dornford-May, currently also artistic director of the Wilton's Music Hall in London, a privately funded initiative aimed at encouraging theatre access for all.

The information provided by the survey will help all stakeholders with interest in the arts to harmonise policy and funding strategies for the development of the arts in SA.

It is also anticipated that the research will lead to more initiatives to develop the South African arts and to identify ways of nurturing and promoting cultural tourism on a national and international level.

For Mr Dornford-May the results of the survey have been enormously uplifting. "South Africans, irrespective of race or economic status, want exposure to the arts, despite popular opinion it's not just the stamping ground of the white middle class." The arts have the ability to reach and unite all people."

Contact: Christine Skinner at + 27 21 462 0416/ 082 648 7279

Issued by: Ministry for Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, 8 March 2001