Fresh face, fresh perspective: Sara Hallatt, new Director of the Bag Factory Studios

Long a fixture on the Johannesburg art scene, The Bag Factory Studios has recently had a change of management. New Director Sara Hallatt speaks to Michael Smith about taking over, surviving the 'icebergs' and the importance of serving the community through art.

Michael Smith: Sara, you've taken over as Director if the Bag Factory Art Studios. How have  you found it so far?

Sara Hallatt: The Bag Factory is a very dynamic place, and as the Director I am surrounded by energetic and creative individuals. I am thoroughly enjoying myself. Naturally, there are challenges but these are par the course.

MS: You come from an events management background: how is the notoriously hermetic and territorial art scene taking to you?

SH: The events management business is hugely competitive, and by nature territorial. I think the main difference would be that events expose one to a wide variety of cultures, people and event techniques, whereas the arts market in Johannesburg is very small. My focus has been directed inwardly at the Bag Factory, and I am concerned with lifting its profile within the Johannesburg visual arts market. The artists and staff of the Bag Factory have done a great deal to welcome me into their space and allow me the latitude to provide a new energy. The Bag Factory is all about sharing, exchange and growth.

MS: I guess what I'm saying is, the politics of the art world are notorious: the private terrain of commercial galleries and dealers is beset with bitchy cabals, power dynamics hidden behind toothy smiles, all underpinned by a very real paucity of money. The public, or government-funded side seems continually hamstrung by the difficulties of dealing with a regime that only really notices art when it wants to censor it. I always feel like working for an NGO or NPO, ultimately dependent on one or the other, must assure its workers their place in heaven...

SH: There is definitely a tendacy for snobbery in the arts scene. People are very confused that I am where I am with no direct experience of visual art or a BAFA and indeed I have been told so. But in saying this the benefit of  working for an NGO removes the direct power dynamics that underpin all relationships governed by money. We really are focusing on development and not self-enrichment.

I have a positive outlook on what would be possible if the management of government funding was handled better. I do believe that there is an interest in the visual arts in South Africa and the buying market is growing. I am struck though that our funding requirements are always forcing us into specific shapes, depending on the mandate of the funder. This week education, next week job creation – it leaves little room for the NGO to focus on what they are good at and meeting the need in the community. This is even more complicated in visual arts funding as the mandates of government will never really be achieved.

MS: I understand you were part of the team that produced the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. How are your eventing skills helping with the management of the Bag Factory?

SH: Yes, that is correct. I was the Assistant Project Director on the event. It was the most amazing experience of my life and, of course, the longest event project I've ever worked on. It began in January 2009 and ended in September 2010.

The whole process behind managing an eventing is based on larger organisational skills. You plan, you budget and you deliver and, hopefully, you do all of that on time and on budget. The Bag Factory requires very similar actions. Of course, there is the additional challenge of fund raising, an endless task. There is also the added benefit of coming from an industry that had a strong understanding of marketing. I have applied these skills to the Bag Factory.

Coming from a corporate background also changes how you think about funding and budgets. The corporate world is driven by the need to make profits. In contrast, I have found that NGOs feel apologetic about receiving funds; many dealings are conducted from a 'cap-in-hand' mentality, when the reality is that NGOs provide a vital service to a community and should not feel embarrassed about money.

MS: You're working with James French, Deputy Director, who has been with the Bag factory for ten years. How do your strengths dovetail with his?

SH: James is a great asset to the Bag Factor and to my team. He has a sound historical view of the Bag Factory, which often provides support for new ideas. He also has a good take on the finances of the Bag Factory, and while that is not all he handles, he certainly keeps one eye looking ahead for icebergs.
The biggest project James runs is our visiting artists’ residency programme, which consists of 12 local and international artists attending a residency for a period of three months during the course of the year. This programme was started in 1996 and is a flagship programme for the Bag Factory.

MS: Your fifteen studio artists, a range of stalwarts like Sam Nhlengethwa and Pat Mautloa through to young up-and-comers Richard Penn and Lerato Shadi, are the backbone of the Bag Factory. How do they contribute to the general atmosphere of the studios?

SH: Each resident artist adds by being a part of the community at the Bag Factory. Without them the Bag Factory would not have a reason to exist. We ask all our artists to attend functions, take on mentees, provide ideas and contribute in one way or another. They also have opportunities to host skills development workshops, which Richard Penn and Diana Hyslop have recently done. This dynamic community supports each other and creates a feedback process which individual artists, working in isolated environments, often lack.

MS: I met you at the Joburg Art Fair, where the Bag factory was exhibiting and selling prints from its ‘20 Fine Years’ print portfolio collaboration with Artist Proof Studio. How was the Fair for you? Just 10-to-6 schmoozing of the well-heeled, or did it provide you with opportunities for more meaningful engagement?

SH: I really enjoyed the fair. I must admit that I was completely ‘networked-out’ by the end of it. It is a great opportunity for the industry to get together and encourage discussion. In saying this I can see how it could become one big, glamourous, champagne-drinking schmooze session. I suppose you will have to ask me again next year, once I have progressed further behind the curtain of the art world. I was far too excited about the success of our portfolio.

MS: What plans are afoot for changes or developments at the Bag Factory?

SH: We would like to be able to refurbish our building. We have been in the same space for 20 years, and the building is in dire need of a massive overhaul. There are very few funders in South Africa willing to pay for infrastructural development, which is a real pity because if we lose our building we will lose our organisation.

We launched the "brick in the wall" campaign in the middle of 2011 which aims, through a series of small fundraisers, to generate funding for these repairs. If there are any one has any ideas, connections or thoughts on who to help us fast-track this we would appreciate it.