WHEN ARTS JOURNALISM MEANT SOMETHING
Reflections on Writing, Memory and Why Arts Coverage Still Matters
There was a time when writing about the arts in South Africa felt intentional. It felt rooted. It carried weight beyond promotion or publicity. Arts journalism was not trying to impress — it was trying to understand.
In those days, you could open a newspaper or tune into a radio programme and find voices that knew the sector intimately. Writers who had sat in dark theatres, dusty community halls, rehearsal rooms and galleries. Critics who were not removed observers, but cultural witnesses.
They wrote because they believed that what artists were doing mattered to the country.
WRITING AS PRESENCE, NOT NOISE
Arts journalism once functioned as a form of presence. It was not always loud, but it was consistent. It followed artists over time. It traced ideas, movements, failures, breakthroughs, and shifts in cultural thinking.
Importantly, it treated artists as thinkers — not just performers or entertainers.
The writing did not always agree with the work, but it engaged it honestly. Reviews were not meant to destroy; they were meant to situate. To reflect. To provoke thought. To leave a record.
That kind of writing created continuity. It allowed young practitioners to locate themselves within a longer cultural conversation.
WHAT CHANGED — AND WHAT WAS LOST
Over time, arts journalism began to disappear from mainstream platforms. Dedicated arts desks closed. Specialist writers were replaced by generalists. Space shrank. Attention shifted.
Coverage became event-driven rather than practice-driven. Publicity replaced critique. Visibility replaced depth.
This shift did not just affect journalists — it affected artists, audiences, institutions and memory itself. When stories are not written, they are not archived. When work is not contextualised, it struggles to live beyond its moment.
The sector became louder, yet strangely quieter at the same time.
WHY THIS STILL MATTERS TODAY
Arts journalism is not about nostalgia. It is about continuity.
Artists do not create in isolation. Their work responds to social realities, policy decisions, funding conditions, education systems and lived experience. Without thoughtful writing around that work, important connections are lost.
Good arts journalism:
Gives language to artistic intention
Creates space for reflection, not just reaction
Holds institutions accountable without hostility
Builds informed audiences
Documents cultural life for future generations
It does not claim authority over artists — it walks alongside them.
EMPOWERMENT THROUGH STORYTELLING
At its best, arts journalism empowers by making visible what is often overlooked. It affirms that creative labour is labour. That process matters as much as outcome. That culture is not decoration — it is infrastructure.
For emerging artists, reading thoughtful coverage can be affirming. It signals that their work exists within a wider ecosystem. For policymakers, it provides grounded insight beyond reports and statistics. For audiences, it opens doors into deeper engagement.
This is not about telling artists what to do. It is about creating space where their work can be understood on its own terms.
WHERE THE CREATIVE PASSPORT SITS
The Creative Passport exists because there is still a need for writing that listens before it speaks. Writing that is curious rather than conclusive. Writing that understands the sector as lived experience, not abstract policy.
It is a platform shaped by years of practice — on stage, behind the scenes, in rehearsal rooms, boardrooms and community spaces. It is informed by memory, but focused on the present.
Not everything needs to be resolved. Some things need to be witnessed, recorded, and shared.
LOOKING FORWARD, NOT BACK
The future of arts journalism in South Africa may not look like the past — and that is not necessarily a problem. What matters is intention, integrity and commitment to the sector.
If we continue to write with care, curiosity and accountability, the work will speak for itself.
The stories are still there.
The artists are still working.
The conversations are still waiting to be held.
INVITATION
How do you experience arts coverage today?
What kind of writing would you like to see more of in the sector?
Join the conversation in the comments.
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