Silke Financial Services wins BASA Award
Silke Financial Services is very proud to have won a BASA Award for Ikwesi Art Centre on Monday 4 June 2007 at a glittering event held at the Alexander Theatre in Braamfontein.
This occasion heralded the Business Day - Business & Arts South Africa's [BASA] 10th anniversary. The function was hosted by Mrs Mary Slack, Chairman, Business & Arts South Africa and Mr Peter Bruce, Editor, Business Day. Guest speakers included Dr Pallo Jordan (Minister of Arts and Culture) and Mrs Evita Bezuidenhout. The Awards were handed out by Mrs Zanele Mbeki, the wife of State President Thabo Mbeki.
Our prize was a dry-point engraving - a work of Zola Toyi, a self-taught artist from the Eastern Cape. When you next visit our offices, you will see it proudly displayed on our wall.
BASA has eleven categories of recognition of the role of business in applying innovation to support and develop local artistic endeavour. Our victory was in the category "Increasing access to the Arts." Out of 5 nominees in our category, Edgars and Silke Financial Services each earned an award.
The Award description was as follows:
'Silke Financial Services for Ikwesi Art Centre
Financial investment in the Art Centre located at Montebello Design Centre in Newlands has enabled construction of two dedicated and tranquil spaces for township artists, with subsidised materials and travel. In addition, Silke Financial Services uses its financial expertise to develop a sustainable model for these artists, as they understand the entire value chain from creative production to market.'
One of the panellists, Andrew Human stated that 'Ikwesi Art Centre deserves an accolade because the project truly aims to make a difference by offering creatively talented artists the chance to develop their talents. Added to this is the fact that the project aims to create a financially viable solution in the long term...'