THE CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS ACT REVIEW
A MOMENT THE CREATIVE SECTOR CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS
By Thami AkaMbongo Manzana
As the deadline of 19 June 2026 approaches for public submissions on the review of the Cultural Institutions Act 119 of 1998, I am concerned that many artists, cultural practitioners, creative workers, community arts organisations, and cultural activists may not fully appreciate the significance of this process.
This is not merely a technical legislative review. It is an opportunity to interrogate the very foundations of South Africa's cultural landscape and ask difficult questions about transformation, access, equity, representation, and the future of cultural development in our country.
The Cultural Institutions Act was promulgated in 1998, during the early years of democracy. While it sought to provide governance and support for cultural institutions, nearly three decades later we must ask:
Has it achieved its transformation objectives?
One of the most pressing questions is why most of South Africa's major cultural institutions remain concentrated in urban centres and former apartheid economic hubs. Why do communities in rural areas, townships, and historically marginalised regions continue to have limited access to nationally recognised cultural infrastructure?
Perhaps the time has come to ask whether some of our long-standing and impactful Community Arts Centres should be declared Cultural Institutions in their own right. Across South Africa, these centres have nurtured generations of artists, preserved indigenous knowledge, promoted social cohesion, and provided cultural services despite receiving a fraction of the resources allocated to established institutions.
The review should also confront the uncomfortable reality that many institutions currently receiving substantial public funding were beneficiaries of apartheid-era investments. While preserving heritage and maintaining institutions is important, the democratic state must ask whether current funding patterns adequately address historical imbalances or simply perpetuate them under a new dispensation.
Transformation cannot be measured only by board appointments or demographic statistics. It must also be reflected in where public resources are invested, who benefits from those investments, and which communities gain access to cultural opportunities.
Equally important is the question of creative labour.
How is it possible that legislation governing cultural institutions says so little about the rights, recognition, and protection of the artists, performers, technicians, curators, educators, writers, and cultural workers who make these institutions function?
Many creative workers continue to face precarious employment, irregular contracts, lack of social protection, and limited career progression. Yet these workers are the lifeblood of the cultural ecosystem. A transformed Cultural Institutions Act should recognise the occupational status of creative workers and ensure that publicly funded institutions contribute meaningfully to fair labour practices, skills development, and professional recognition.
This review presents a rare opportunity to strengthen accountability, deepen transformation, broaden access, and place creative workers at the centre of cultural policy.
The future of South Africa's cultural sector should not be decided only by policymakers, lawyers, and administrators. Artists, practitioners, organisations, academics, community leaders, and ordinary citizens must make their voices heard.
History has shown that when the sector remains silent, decisions are made without it.
I therefore urge every cultural and creative industries practitioner, organisation, community arts centre, heritage activist, arts administrator, researcher, and cultural worker to participate in this important process.
Make your submission. Raise your concerns. Propose solutions. Challenge assumptions. Advocate for transformation.
The Cultural Institutions Act of the future should reflect the realities, aspirations, and diversity of all South Africans—not only the institutions that have historically enjoyed recognition and resources.
Submissions can be sent to: Dakalom@dsac.gov.za
Deadline: 19 June 2026
The question is simple: if we do not shape the future of our cultural institutions now, who will?
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