Statement by Leah Potgieter MP – DA Spokesperson on Sports, Arts and Culture:
The Democratic Alliance condemns Minister Gayton McKenzie’s decision to overturn South Africa’s official Venice Biennale submission after a lawful, independent selection process had already been concluded.
This is not about the content of the artwork or the politics. It is about process.
Once an arms-length selection process has been completed, a minister has no authority to intervene because he dislikes the outcome. Any concerns about content, foreign policy implications or reputational risk should have been raised before the process concluded, not after.
Retroactive political interference fatally undermines the credibility of South Africa’s cultural institutions. If ministers are allowed to step in after the fact, no selection process is meaningful and no artistic platform is secure. Today it is artwork. Tomorrow it could be any issue, from any political direction.
The Minister claims this was an exercise of executive discretion. It was not. It was interference, plain and simple. It sets a dangerous precedent in which cultural expression becomes subject to political approval.
South Africa’s creative sector, like all sectors, relies on consistent application of rules, institutional independence and predictable governance. Arbitrary reversals damage our international reputation and deter partnerships, and further places already-vulnerable livelihoods in the creative sector at risk.
Democratic societies recognise and protect artistic expression as independent and free from political interference. Art functions as the conscience of a nation, giving voice to individual and collective realities that may be uncomfortable for those in power but as Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize shows, art isn’t about conformity, but the courage to express political and social truths through creative expression.
The Democratic Alliance will report Minister McKenzie to the Public Protector for acting beyond his lawful authority and undermining due process.
We call on the Minister to reverse this decision immediately and to respect the independence of South Africa’s constitutional values and cultural institutions.
Kazmii
Boerewors — spicy South African sausage [boor-uh-vors] Meaning ‘farmer’s sausage’, this term describes a savory sausage that was developed by the Afrikaners approximately 200 years ago. Boerewors is usually ‘braaied’ and eaten on a hot dog roll with tomato sauce and mustard. Make sure you roll the ‘r’ when pronouncing this word.
Unseen
Fun South African Fact: South African Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the world’s first heart transplant on 3 December 1967 at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. The groundbreaking surgery was carried out on Louis Washkansky and Dr. Barnard was assisted by a large and exceptional team of surgeons, nurses and technicians. One of Dr. Barnard’s assistants was Hamilton Naki, a black laboratory assistant who had worked previously as a gardener and went on to work in the animal laboratory at the University of Cape Town. He had assisted Dr Barnard with research leading to the transplant. In the apartheid days, Naki had no access to higher education due to his race. Despite being unable to access formal training, he learned from and assisted university researchers and went on to do unbelievable work.