“Since early February until the 12th of June [2021], I had a regular income with an average of five events per week. When the lockdown was introduced in June I had zero income due to zero events.” This was freelance sound engineer and lighting designer Nicolas Strydom’s experience when lockdown regulations were pushed to level four in June 2021. He is one of many members of the events industry in South Africa who have experienced a loss of income and who feel abandoned by their government.
On 27 June 2021, President Cyril Rhamaphosa announced that South Africans would once again have to return to their homes when he raised the lockdown level from level three to level four. This meant another temporary ban on alcohol and social gatherings. While many South Africans lamented over the potential damage this lockdown could do to restaurants and breweries, a few South Africans took to social media to defend the events industry.
Marike Kasselman performing with the band DeWallen at Aandklas in Stellenbosch on 8 May 2021. PHOTO: Wessel Krige
The events industry in South Africa includes event planners, sound engineers and performers. The industry suffered a heavy blow during the initial lockdown of 2020 when all events, including live shows, were prohibited, according to an article by Ismael Modiba on SABC News. Some businesses suffered massive financial losses with some losing up to R1.6 million, writes Modiba.
After President Cyril Rhamaphosa moved the country to lockdown alert level two in August 2020, industry members were able to operate again under strict regulations according to the government’s website. But when the country returned to level four on 27 June this year, it marked the end for many businesses in the events industry. This includes that of Marthinus Stander, current chef and manager at Aandklas bar in Stellenbosch.
“Myself and a friend owned a restaurant in Stellenbosch. We had been open for 18 months and had to liquidate the business. We did casual fine dining with events on the side. We actually had a good business and model. But it was simply too young to survive,” says Stander about the effect of the more recent regulations.
Stander was one of many members of the events industry who struggled under the strain of the level four lockdown, and feels that their plight is being severely overlooked by the government.
On-stage… and off-stage
Last year’s initial hard lockdown led to the postponement of many events, and in some instances the eventual closure of many events. One such event was the Acorn Acoustic sessions, a weekly music event held at the Aandklas bar, says musician Gustav Franzsen.
“There had been more than 130 regular sessions [since inception] and numerous other related mellow- , Sunday- and jam-sessions. Various bands were formed after jams at these sessions and lots of great, live music was heard,” Franzen comments. “The last session was on 4 March 2020, because after that, Covid-19 and the resulting lockdowns stalled the sessions in its tracks.”
Some technicians were able to work again while the country was under level two restrictions. Pictured above is the Aandklas stage during a lighting test before a show. PHOTO: Supplied/Janette Marike Kasselman
The loss of events during the June lockdown caused great distress to musicians, according to Marike Kasselman, a musician and assistant sound technician.
“I could no longer perform. I watched it [lockdown] rip through the lives of my friends and loved ones who were dependent on it. I lost the ability to support others and could no longer pursue my passion for live music,” Kasselman explains.
Sound engineers and event technicians struggled alongside the musicians and suffered both financially and psychologically, according to Nicolas Strydom, a freelance sound engineer & lighting designer.
“Personally, I have struggled mentally… depression and lack of motivation. Those who I work with have had the same mental issues,” says Strydom. “It has been a challenge to keep a positive and a healthy outlook on life. I have experienced withdrawals of shows… or rather the lack of being able to create.”
A technician works the camera during a live stream at the Daisy Jones Bar in Stellenbosch. PHOTO: Wessel Krige
Abandoned by government
The loss of opportunity, income and even business for the members of the events industry led to many artists and technicians voicing their displeasure with the South African government and how they handled the events industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. The National Department of Sport, Arts and Culture had offered a relief package of R150 million to the industry last year, but at the time the process of allocating this package had been questioned by the industry.
According to Kasselman, many industry professionals have been disappointed by the government’s response to the struggles of the events industry.
A sound desk in use at the Triggerfish Brewery in Somerset West. PHOTO: Wessel Krige
“The manner in which we have all been left to fend for ourselves feels as though we are being written off as collateral damage,” Kasselman says about the government response. “Some of the members of the community live paycheck to paycheck and for those whose livelihoods were spared… their spirits have been broken.”
Tania Colyn, the head of communications at the Western Cape department of cultural affairs and sport, sympathises with members of the events industry and hopes that the vaccine will help ease the burden.
“We have been heartened to see that artists have looked at utilizing online platforms to continue with their work but we also hope that audiences will take up the opportunity to be vaccinated so that we can hopefully return to hosting events with audiences again soon,” Colyn says.
Colyn says her department did provide aid to members of the industry but calls on others to also help in providing relief for those struggling.
“Our department offered relief funding to those in the arts industry during the hard lockdown last year. We have also gone through our annual arts and culture funding process this year,” Colyn comments. “We are calling on all partners (public and private) to support the recovery of the arts industry – this cannot be done by the government alone.”
The provincial department’s relief package consisted of R20.4 million, according to the Western Cape provincial minister of cultural affairs and sport, Anroux Marais’s 2021/22 Financial Year Budget Speech.
The next event
When it comes to the future of the events industry, things continue to look uncertain, according to Stander.
An art salon in Stellenbosch on 27 May 2021. Members of the fine arts industry were also struggling to sell paintings and hold exhibitions for their art according to Stellenbosch based Fine Artist Gerben Meiring. PHOTO: Wessel Krige
“We face a tricky and trying future. We have big events planned and even bigger names involved, as all parties touched by this have been affected,” says Stander. “To be honest, only time will tell who survives.”
While the future may seem ominous, industry professionals are determined to rise again in spite of the damage done by lockdown, according to Kasselman.
“I want to believe that we will come back as strong as we did go down swinging. That said, we have lost many of our own and with the time that has passed, many of us will not be the same,” says Kasselman. “Still: You cannot destroy something that pure, that potent. So, I know that giving up is not an option.”