HAPPY 2026

 

A YEAR OF TRUTH, ACCOUNTABILITY AND ACTION IN THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

Published as we cross into 2026 — your reflections help shape the year ahead

As we step into 2026, it would be intellectually dishonest for The Creative Passport to offer a generic New Year greeting without confronting the realities that continue to shape — and in many ways suffocate — the Cultural and Creative Industries in South Africa and across the continent.

Celebration without reflection becomes denial.
Optimism without accountability becomes theatre.

This platform was founded to document, question, analyse and amplify the lived experiences of practitioners operating in a sector rich in creativity and heritage, yet persistently undermined by weak regulation, delayed policy implementation, political opportunism and a culture that often punishes truth-tellers instead of protecting them.

If 2026 is to mean anything, it must be a year where we move beyond statements and symbolism into implementation, integrity and courage.

WHY THIS CONVERSATION MATTERS NOW

Public money demands public accountability.
Creative labour demands legal protection.
Policy demands implementation, not perpetual consultation.

For too long, the Cultural and Creative Industries have been managed through temporary fixes, selective engagement and political messaging rather than sustained structural reform. Institutions speak of transformation while operating through exclusion. Leaders promise progress while avoiding difficult conversations.

This platform believes that progress will not emerge from silence, fear or gatekeeping. It will come from honest dialogue, ethical leadership and a sector that refuses to betray itself for access, funding or proximity to power.

As part of beginning 2026 differently, we invite practitioners, cultural workers, administrators, academics, students and policymakers to engage openly and honestly with what this year must represent for the sector.

Comments are open.
Anonymous participation is welcome.
Your lived experience matters.

THE CREATIVE PASSPORT FOUNDING EDITOR: 2026 RESOLUTIONS

As Founding Editor of The Creative Passport, I place my own resolutions on public record — not as a wish list, but as expectations rooted in years of sector engagement, policy observation and lived experience.

In 2026, we must see:

Image: Gayton Mckenzie photo

 (Source: www.gov.za)

The Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Honourable Gayton McKenzie, speaking more clearly, consistently and substantively on sector regulation, not only funding announcements.

The Performers Protection Bill signed into law to safeguard performers from exploitation, abuse and contractual injustice.

The fast-tracking of finalisation and meaningful engagement around the Fair Use Clause within the Copyright Amendment Bill, without deliberate delays.

Tangible implementation of the Dance and Theatre Policy in South Africa, beyond documents, summits and press statements.

A clear, funded and time-bound implementation plan for what can realistically work within the approved Revised White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage.

The 17 Sector Clusters formally constituted by 01 April 2026, functional, inclusive and operating for the benefit of practitioners rather than elites.

A significant increase in practicing practitioners occupying councils of state institutions, ensuring decisions are informed by lived sector realities.

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Political parties refraining from lying to the Cultural and Creative Industries and making empty promises ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.

Image: National Treasury of SA Logo

     (Source: www.gov.za)

National Treasury allocating increased and protected funding to Arts and Culture entities, recognising culture as both an economic and social investment.

An immediate end to the victimisation of individuals who speak truth to power. We must be allowed to agree to disagree without punishment.

These are not radical demands. They are long overdue necessities.

QUESTIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS, POLICYMAKERS AND INSTITUTIONS

As these resolutions are placed on record, we invite you — the reader — to reflect and respond:

What must fundamentally change in the Cultural and Creative Industries in 2026 for progress to be real?

Which harmful behaviours are we, as practitioners, still normalising because of fear, dependency or survival?

What kind of leadership does this sector truly need — not in speeches, but in daily practice?

What should government and its entities finally get right in 2026 that they have repeatedly failed to deliver?

What is the one non-negotiable principle the sector must protect this year?

Your responses are welcome.
Your anonymity is respected.
Your voice is valid.

THIS PLATFORM IS A MIRROR, NOT A COMFORT ZONE

The Creative Passport is not here to protect egos, preserve access or perform loyalty. It exists to document truth, interrogate systems and hold both power and practitioners accountable.

If 2026 is to be different, we must abandon the illusion that silence is strategy and compliance is survival. Growth will come through honesty, disagreement, and principled engagement.

We welcome critique.
We welcome debate.
We welcome truth.

Let us begin 2026 by speaking — openly, responsibly and without fear or favour.

Comments are open. Anonymous submissions are allowed.

Image: The Creative Passport Logo

(no copyright infringement is intended.) 

The Creative Passport is an independent platform focused on Arts, Culture and the Creative Industries. Readers are encouraged to follow, comment and engage constructively.

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