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Main Objectives

the promotion of the visual arts in general;
the development of visual artists; and
furthering international cooperation in the field of the visual arts

Management Committee

Anton Loubser
National President

Gilberto Leal
Vice-President

Lynette ten Krooden
Vice-President

Helen E Weldrick
Vice-President

Basie Botha
Honorary National Treasurer

Avitha Sooful
Honorary Advisor: Social Development

Constitution

Approved and adopted at the Annual General Meeting on 2 October 1998, and amended at Annual General Meetings on 23 April 2004, 21 April 2006 and 27 April 2007.

Sanava: A member of the IAA

The South African Association of Arts (SAAA), earlier name of the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA), was a founding member of the International Association of Art (IAA)/Association Internationale des Arts Plastiques (AIAP). The IAA is a non-governmental world body run by and for visual artists in every medium, style and tradition. It was founded in 1954 under the auspices of UNESCO. Artists from countries worldwide are represented by their national committees. At the 1st General Assembly of the IAA, held in Venice from 28 September to 3 October 1954, the SAAA was represented by an established visual artist, Walter Battiss. He was elected as a member of the organisation’s first Executive Committee, together with representatives from Brazil, USA, Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Japan and Sweden.

The principal objectives of the IAA are:

to stimulate international co-operation, free from any aesthetic, political or other bias, among artists of all countries;
to improve the economic and social position of artists at the international level, and to defend their material and moral rights; and
to co-operate with UNESCO in the field of the visual arts.

At some or other stage during the apartheid era, the SAAA became a dormant member of the IAA. On 24 September 2005, at the 16th General Assembly of the IAA held in Beijing, China, this valuable relationship was rekindled, when SANAVA was readmitted as a member of the world body. The National President of SANAVA, Anton Loubser, was elected as a member of the Executive Committee, together with representatives from the Peoples Republic of China, Japan, Kuwait, Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, Brazil, Mexico and Mauritius.

National President’s annual report 2008

The Association experienced a gradual growth in its membership, whilst consolidating its financial position and increasing its activities with regard to development projects and international involvement. At national level, SANAVA’s autonomous branches and affiliated organisations were as active as ever in furthering the Association’s major objective, that of promoting the visual arts in its widest context, always within the scope as allowed by the means at their disposal. Click here to view the President’s report

The South African National Association for the Visual Arts

(SANAVA)

SANAVA is the oldest, constitutionally established, most representative, national non-governmental association for the promotion of the visual arts in South Africa, its origin dating back to 1851 when the Cape Fine Arts Society (CFAS) was established.

Over the years, the Society has grown to become a national body of artists and lovers of the visual arts. The organisation proved its resilience despite several war-time situations and challenges of an economic, financial, social and political nature. Several name changes were due to follow: in 1871 it became the South African Fine Arts Association (SAFAA), in 1945 the South African Association of Arts (SAAA), and in 1998 the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA). Despite the name changes, the Association basically retained the same objectives as reflected in the original Constitution, that of promoting the visual arts in its widest context. One of SANAVA’s major objectives concerning the development of artists relates to the administration of three fully equipped artists’ studios, in the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, France. These were acquired during the early 1990s in terms of an occupational rights agreement, valid till 2060.

SANAVA is an overall administrative body, serving autonomous branches and affiliated organisations (art galleries, museums, educational institutions and corporate bodies providing for the promotion of the visual arts) country-wide.   Presently, the Association comprises 26 branches and 19 affiliated organisations, including two academic institutions in Mozambique (the National School of Visual Arts of Mozambique and the Portuguese School of Mozambique, both in Maputo). Its Constitution does not allow for individual artists directly to become members of the national association.   They have to be members of a branch that is a member of the national body.

SANAVA is registered with the Department of Social Development as a Non-profit Organisation as well as with the South African Revenue Service as a Public Benefit Organisation. Although the SAAA (earlier name of SANAVA) had been a founding member of the International Association of Art (IAA) in 1954, it became a dormant member in later years.   On 24 September 2005, at the 16th General Assembly of the IAA held in China, SANAVA was readmitted as a member of that non-governmental world body, closely associated with UNESCO.