BASA Awards

Jul 29

The transformative power of art

Established in 1997 as a joint initiative of the Department of Arts and Culture and the corporate sector, Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) is an internationally recognised South African development agency that encourages mutually beneficial partnerships between business and the arts.

The brief

The arts have a vital role in society, especially in South Africa. Through art, we can collectively heal from our troubled past, while tackling the wider socio-economic challenges that face our country today. Recognising the inherent transformative power of art, the BASA Awards were launched over 20 years ago to encourage corporate South Africa to invest in the local arts scene.

For ten years, BBA served as the lead creative agency handling the design and creative direction of the annual BASA Awards. Every year, BASA endeavoured to bring a unique theme to the award ceremony. This meant that our team was tasked with creating fresh, supporting collateral around a new theme annually.

In addition to rewarding corporates investing in the arts, BASA also facilitated its own social transformation through the arts by commissioning unique artworks every year for each award winner. These artworks then informed the trophy design, which local artists were then approached to create.

The trophies became highly sought-after pieces of art in themselves, with many BASA Award attendees requesting to purchase them as souvenirs for their private homes.

The brand

BBA managed the integrated brand for BASA for ten years, doing several brand refreshes over the years. We also produced research and annual reports highlighting BASA’s contributions to society.

#ArtMovesMe

The #artMOVESme campaign was launched in 2014 to explore the value of the arts for both business and broader society and capture the role of the arts in people’s lives. The wheatpaste art installation produced by BBA and Studio Riot toured different festivals and art fairs all over the country.

The trophy art editions

Each year saw the creation of an edition of unique trophies, in line with a specific theme of that year by a diverse group of artists. It was in the creation of the trophy art pieces that the theme for each year’s event truly came to life.