Creative Cape Town

image (c) BISON, courtesy The Imaginarium

Creative professionals wanting to succeed in Cape Town know that there’s no single formula for it, but some also know that there is strength in numbers. Count the benefits of strategic collaboration as we speak to a few companies and organisations who understand the power of pooling resources, knowledge, skills and networks. Carefully.

image (c) Hope Projects, courtesy The Imaginarium

“Survival in our industry would be challenging if we were to lose our togetherness at the expense of any individual pursuit of greatness.”

These are the sentiments of Am I Collective, and also, increasingly, of the wider creative Cape Town.  While every artist is an individual, the ‘no man is an island’ trend is increasingly engaging Cape Town creatives in what can be called careful collectives, and for good reason.

image (c) Mak1one, courtesy The Imaginarium

Working together means : offering clients a more complete, multi-tiered product or service,  building stronger business-sector relationships through sharing information and resources and more radically refining a product or service through collective strength, creative inspiration and critical input. In other words, better work, more work, and potentially more profit.

image (c) Cassandra Leigh Johnson, courtesy The Imaginarium

Anyone who’s ever worked to deadline for the breadline is well aware that nurturing a creative career isn’t just about carving out a niche into which you put nice (or naughty, or nasty) creative detail and being paid for it.  It’s also about managing the dynamic tension between creativity and corporate culture, between brimming inspiration and professional integrity. A few in the stew putting two and you together in this way includes /A WORD OF ART, Am I Collective, The Imaginarium, and Silent Revolution in their respective professional capacities.

image (c) BISON, courtesy The Imaginarium

Understanding the principle of easy access and an uncomplicated production for both the creative and the client is central to a collective. The Imaginarium offers insights into working collectively and productively, and where to draw the line between collaboration and representation.

“A collective is a group of people coming together to create,” they point out , “and an agency is here to aid the artist/collective in gaining work, dealing with clients, and managing the projects for the collective. “

This 13-month old agency, run by Nicole Bester and Shani Judes, is a lot younger than –  and a little different to – most. It connects clients to some of the city’s finest talents including photographer Jonx Pillemer and design duo Bison. Its unique ‘creatives’ produce bespoke illustration, graphic design, motion graphics, photography, PR, wall murals, web design, workshops and live art.  The Imaginarium books creatives on demand, and then takes care of client services, project management and financial accounts from start to finish. What sets them apart, for now, is that they are the “only agency in South Africa which offers a full spectrum of services in this business model.”

The exclusivity factor is not an incarceration, however. While they feel “it is in everyone’s best interest to be seen as one force and have one point of contact, as clients find this less confusing,“ they are not against artists affiliated with them offering one service through them, and another through another representative.

image (c) Wesley van Eeden, courtesy The Imaginarium

It’s not all plain sailing once you’ve pooled resources and set up production however, and there’s still along way for Cape Town to go before its creatives feel more secure. “We feel there is a large sense of disconnection and I think by having a platform for creatives we are tackling a small part of this issue.” Says the Imaginarium.

“Cape Town needs support and funding from the City of Cape Town and/or Government so that special art projects can get off the ground. The City is reluctant to come on board and to authorise public art and it seems as though no one wants to take responsibility for it. We are currently working on a project which we feel will make an enormous and beautiful change to the city!”

The South African Freelancers Association (SAFREA) feels Cape Town also needs Internet Bandwidth and infrastructural support, as well as a full appreciation of the value of creative services as a profession by clients and employers –“respect, in other words” as Gareth Griffiths, SAFREA vice-chair, with 16 years in the industry, points out.

The association is also an active part of the creative food chain and has other concerns. Many creatives in the broader Cape Town community sub-contract work to SAFREANS.  PR agencies and Ad Agencies sub-contract skills such as copy writing, photography and design work to independent freelancers who are SAFREA members. “We face enormous challenges due to the attitude of corporates and their exploitation of small business service providers. This includes issues such as minimum wages (rates), and especially protection of copyright.”

Beyond offering a more tailored, complete product or service through pooled talents and resources,  how do collectives work with these issues? By networking, for starters. Not just one-on-one, but under broader banners, too. Face-to-face meetings are an invaluable point of contact in the context of the creative industries, as anyone who’s attended a Creative Cape Town/ Design Network Cluster will confirm.

The Imaginarium regularly attends exhibitions, talks, network meetings and courses.  SAFERA proactively connects clients to creatives by inviting those who pass business along to their monthly meetings in an attempt to sell its services further. “The relationships are generally good.” says SAFREA’s Gary.

Another way to address the issues in the context of collectives is to choose carefully. SAFREA doesn’t monitor its members’ output, but those claiming allegiance are accountable to a code of conduct that carefully outlines accepted business ethics and best practise principles in line with a long tradition of professional photo-journalism in the country. The Imaginarium is open to top-end creatives of a ‘certain calibre’ and keeps up with a job every step of the way.

Why select a collective in terms of its approach to quality control? In the hustle for artistic licence and recognition, it helps to think more carefully about how to better manage workflow, work relationships and productivity to reach more people more easily. Being accountable to others encourages this. Working with others enables this.

Let’s hope some of the thoughts and ideas reflected here will prompt more interaction, communication and collaboration in the creative sector. (And if you’re not already a fan, join the club on Facebook!)