Cultural Help Desk

To enable and facilitate economic empowerment within the field of arts and culture through the provision of assistance, support, advice, training and development and consultancy services in the fields of:
- Management (project, organizational, business, strategic)
- Administration (logistical, financial, secretarial,)
- Fundraising
- Marketing, publicity and profile building
- Linking artists and the various art disciplines regionally and internationally through information exchange, tours, lectures and general exposure.

Vision

To be part of a creative process by facilitating and enabling a support platform through which artists can express themselves without being hindered by managerial and administrative restrictions. To provide basic infrastructural and capacity support that will enable the economic empowerment and growth of artists and the arts

The Cultural Development Trust will strive to respond both reactively and proactively to the needs of artists in particular and the growth of art and culture generally in South and Southern Africa as an economically viable sector.

Objectives

The objectives are to help stimulate employment and reverse the current decline of people employed in this sector; to help stimulate a creative environment by better circumstances and knowledge
In particular stimulate youth and more women to participate in the Cultural Sector, artistically and as managers by making information more readily available to them and by assisting and training towards economic empowerment
The cultural helpdesk itself serves as a training centre by training its own staff-members to be trainers of others
The cultural helpdesk will serve as an information centre for its members
The cultural helpdesk works towards generating its own income to cover 25% of the expenditure for running-costs as an example of the Organisational Sustainability policy that is advocated to all groups

Courses offered

Arts and Culture Administration NQF4 Learnership
Administrators Training Programme for Arts and Culture Practitioners and Organisations

Course content

Craft Council SA provides courses on demand that are mainly skills based such as:

Project Management
Marketing
Administration systems
Administration systems
Financial Administration
Writing fundraising proposals
Accountability and Budgeting
Organisational Management and Procedures
Financial Management and Procedures

Currently awaiting Accreditation - MAPP SETA NQF4 leadership (Arts and Culture Administration).

Fees

Primarily our training is funded although this is often determined by specific needs and demands of clients

What we offer the industry

Management and Administration services specific to the arts and culture sector

History

The Cultural Help Desk was founded in 2000 and set up as trust organisation to provide much needed support to the overall development of artistes and artiste organisations in the Newtown and surrounding areas.
Spearheaded by a group of women who are the founding members the organisation is registered as a Trust whose Board of Trustees are: