About The Survey
The National Visual Arts Survey is part of a larger research process gathering up-to-date information on the status of the visual arts in South Africa. The survey was first undertaken in 2009 by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) on behalf of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture. The results were made available to the public in 2010. Below you will find more information about the findings of that research, and you can download the original report.
Highlights from the 2010 HSRC Visual Arts Research Report:
17700 people working in the Visual Arts sector in South Africa
58% of all people working in the sector were black
Half of all people working in the sector were women
5500 artists – both fulltime and part time
R149 000 was the average income of artists
R 1 504 052 569 (R1,5 billion) was the total contribution of the visual arts to the South African GDP
To download the executive summary from 2010
To download the full report
The 2023/2024 research is being undertaken by the creative insights agency Andani.Africa. To find out more about their work you can visit their website at
The survey will run from October - November 2023 with ongoing research being undertaken in early 2024. We hope to share the results of the research in the second half of 2024. The survey is the most important part of the research, in addition to a review of the 2010 recommendations, updates on policy and funding conditions and other detailed material.
The 2023/2024 research is undertaken by the Andani.Africa team and supported by an advisory panel of experts in the Visual Arts, as well as a team of provincial guides to support representation of artists across South Africa.
Take part in the survey! #shareyourvoice