Wamkelekile. Siyakubona. We see you.
Every visual artist in South Africa deserves to be seen.
You create a R5.6 billion economy — but 81% of you have never accessed public support. We're mapping the sector, province by province, to change that. Your voice matters here.
Full profile for the national constituency database
Name, email, province — we contact you when we visit your area
From provincial mapping workshops across South Africa
Constituency & Ecosystem Mapping
We're building a verified national constituency database of South African visual arts.
We're going to every province. Running workshops. Listening to visual artists. Documenting the lived experiences of practitioners across 13 disciplines.
This is Volume 1 of a five-volume strategic framework — from understanding the sector, to equipping it with tools, to shifting policy for lasting change.
See the full programme →
MAP
Find and verify practitioners, organisations, and institutions across every province.
CONNECT
One network. One voice. Linked across geography, discipline, and institution.
ADVOCATE
Evidence for policy that works — grounded in real data, not assumptions.
Eastern Cape Provincial Engagement
The Evidence Base
Independent research quantifies the sector we're building for.
In 2023, DSAC commissioned Andani Africa to review the visual arts sector. Their findings revealed a R5.6 billion economy where 81% of practitioners have never accessed funding — and most are invisible to the systems meant to support them.
Source: Andani Africa, National Visual Arts Review 2024
Read the full evidence base →The Ecosystem
VACSA coordinates. Our partners fund, train, research, and advocate.
Working under a formal Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC). Aligned with the National Arts Council (NAC), the Visual Arts Network of South Africa (VANSA), the Culture SETA (CATHSSETA), Andani Africa, and sector institutions across South Africa.
Gauteng constituency engagement sessions
Johannesburg constituency mapping workshop
This Is For You
Whether you paint alone in your studio or run a gallery in your community — you belong here. Find your place.
For Visual Artists
If you paint, sculpt, photograph, design, install, weave, print, or create — you belong here.
Representation in the national conversation
Access to funding and opportunity information
Skills development pathways
Visibility — you will be seen
For Institutions & Galleries
The ecosystem needs you mapped too.
Access to the national practitioner database
Partnership opportunities
Collaborative programming
Government arts strategy alignment
For Stakeholders
Partner in the infrastructure layer of South African visual arts.
Sector demographics and needs
Evidence-based partnerships
National network
Impact reporting
For Researchers & Policy Makers
The data tells a story. We're building the evidence base.
National constituency data
National Baseline Report (2026)
Sector research partnership
Evidence for policy advocacy
Workshop moments from Gauteng, Eastern Cape, and Limpopo
What Comes Next
Mapping is Volume 1. Here's the road ahead.
The Evidence
81% of visual arts practitioners have never applied for public funding.
R5.6B
Annual contribution to GDP
Andani Africa, 2023
~21,000
Estimated practitioners
Andani Africa, 2023
45%
Spend more than they earn
Andani Africa, 2023
77%
Schools lack visual arts
Andani Africa, 2023
Your work matters. Let us see it.
Join the constituency mapping — add your voice to the national picture.
Join the Constituency Mapping — It Takes 5 Minutes