THE debate about the sensitive issue of arts funding has again been thrust into the spotlight in the ongoing discussions spearheaded by the arts funding body, the National Arts Council.

The discussions, titled Arts, Funding and Sustainability Challenges, which in fact began in 2009 and were for some time shelved, have been put on the agenda again.

The discussions interrogate the issue of funding and whether arts organisations should outgrow funding and run as normal businesses, as overdependency on funding has been identified as not ideal for the growth of the industry.

The first discussion, part of a planned nationwide series organised by the NAC and the Wits department of education, was held on Thursday at Museum Africa.

Attended by the arts community, moderated by NAC research manager Mokong Simon Mapdimeng, NAC acting CEOGoodwin Mnisi and new council chairwoman Angie Makwetla fielded questions from the arts community.

Panelists Makhaola Ndebele, a performing artist, creative consultant and part-time lecturer at the Wits School of Arts, Lesley Cohn, a respected arts consultant, and Kim Berman, a veteran arts educator, mentor and professor of visual arts at the University of Johannesburg, also presented papers.

The discussion was heated, but rational and sober, as opposed to previous debates that were often characterised by tantrums and chaos.

The issue of arts funding has been debated several times in post- apartheid South Africa, with, unfortunately, no solutions.

And whenever the argument for funding the arts is brought forward, counter-arguments militating against spending money on the arts by a country which has prioritised certain areas in its reconstructive path, have been brought forward.

Popular counter-arguments include comparing arts funding to health and education, for example, and in most cases the lobbyists for arts funding have come second best in the argument.

Another popular argument used against arts funding is its contribution to job creation as opposed to its intrinsic value and other seemingly abstract concepts such as its perceived role as having the ability to unite and heal the nation through song, dance, paintings, poetry and even literature.

Pretoria-based arts entrepreneur Mandla Maseko complained that the current NAC model of funding was not sustainable.

"This model is akin to a social grant, creating dependency on the NAC by arts entities. The arts must play an important role and even shape government's economic policies, instead of remaining on the economic periphery as is the case right now," he said.

Actor, director and arts activist Mpho Molepo argued that the problems in the arts are located within the current arts legislative framework.

"Under the current legislation, enabling government to fund the arts, the six institutions receive funding under the Cultural Act (Market Theatre, The Playhouse in Durban, Performance Centre of the Free State, The State Theatre Pretoria, Windybrow Theatre, and Artscape) receive most of the Department of Arts and Culture's funding. But under this legislation, the money is for operating costs and not for funding productions.

This legislation must change," Molepo suggested.

Panelist, Ndebele said the problem in the arts was not money.

"The problem is the audience not money," he said.

"So there is a need for audience development to avoid a situation in which our arts practitioners have to take their products to overseas markets to be successful."

Businessman Vukile Pokwana bemoaned the lack of activism in the arts and the tendency of the new black elite to shun funding the arts.

"How come the arts used to thrive during apartheid when there was no funding? There is a serious lack of philanthropy on the part of the new black rich. Maybe they need Bibles and books in their homes to be morally considerate," he said.