South African Cultural Observatory

The South African Cultural Observatory is like the StatsSA of the cultural and sport economy. We acts as a national research centre dedicated to the development of a comprehensive cultural information system for South Africa. Conceived of in 2013, through the Mzansi Golden Economy strategy (2011), the SACO is a project of the South African Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) hosted by the Nelson Mandela University in partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Rhodes University, and several research partners led by Andani.Africa.

The SACO was officially established in 2015 to develop a more sophisticated understanding of South Africa’s cultural and creative economy – and also to map trends, develop statistics, gather economic data across the arts, culture and heritage sectors and the cultural and creative industries (CCIs); and to inform decision and policymakers. Since then, we've shaped new knowledge, tools, and insights into our cultural and creative economy.