Philip Stein - Revision history

Miriamt: /* Sources */

2020-04-23T07:51:10Z

Sources

Miriamt at 07:50, 23 April 2020

2020-04-23T07:50:32Z

Miriamt: /* Sources */

2017-04-06T15:07:16Z

Sources

Satj: /* Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance */

2014-10-30T10:54:56Z

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Satj: /* Awards, etc */

2014-10-30T08:01:15Z

Awards, etc

Satj: /* Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance */

2014-10-30T07:35:54Z

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Satj: /* Training */

2014-04-11T06:53:01Z

Training

Satj: /* Return to */

2014-04-11T06:52:25Z

Return to

Satj at 06:52, 11 April 2014

2014-04-11T06:52:00Z

Gaerin: Created page with "( 1926-2010) Bookseller, entrepreneur and arts sponsor. Born in Piketburg in the Western Cape on July 29 1926. His parents had come to South Africa from Lithuania in the early192..."

2011-01-17T09:27:47Z

Created page with "( 1926-2010) Bookseller, entrepreneur and arts sponsor. Born in Piketburg in the Western Cape on July 29 1926. His parents had come to South Africa from Lithuania in the early192..."

New page

( 1926-2010) Bookseller, entrepreneur and arts sponsor. Born in Piketburg in the Western Cape on July 29 1926. His parents had come to South Africa from Lithuania in the early1920s. In the mid-'40s the family moved to Johannesburg. Stein's involvement in the arts began with a boyhood passion for books which he bought and sold for profit. He was a "book smous " (pedlar), he used to laugh. After studying history and music at the [[University of the Witwatersrand]], he got a job at the Vanguard bookshop in Hillbrow, run by Trotskyites. Here, in the '40s and '50s, he met black intellectuals and white left-wingers such as Ruth First, Harold Wolpe and Denis Goldberg. He was invited by CNA to be its retail books director and in 1962 founded the CNA Literary Award. He spent many years in publishing. While recovering from a bout of ill-health, he came up with the idea of a series of theatre awards which in 1983 he sold to the then MD of AA Mutual Life, Brian Benfield. The result was the [[Vita Awards]] for performing arts. In 1987 he came up with the idea for [[Dance Umbrella]], which would be a local equivalent of Dance Umbrellas in Austin, Texas and London. It got off the ground two years later and has played a central role in popularizing contemporary dance and facilitating the emergence of talented choreographers and dancers. Stein, who had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years, died on the 4th July, 2010 two weeks after his wife of 60 years, Shirley. The couple had 5 children. While he did not launch corporate sponsorship of the arts in this country, he certainly breathed vigorous life into it in the 1980s and made the notion of corporate engagement with the arts more widely acceptable than it might otherwise have been. Much of the money that today supports the visual arts, poetry, short stories, opera, ballet, contemporary dance, crafts and community theatre does so because of him. A small man of great charm, huge drive and impressive intellect, he was passionate about art, its importance to society and its relevance in the modern world. He was highly effective in communicating this passion to company bosses and, at least as important, selling them the business case for pumping their shareholders' money into art. It wasn't about charity, he told them, it was about a long-term return on investment. And over the years his various initiatives paid them back handsomely. There was an enormous wealth of potential talent in South Africa, he told them. With their money they could unlock it. "Spread it around like manure and see what grows," he famously challenged. "You'll find gold in dross," he told them. "You've got to fund, experiment, be brave."

Return to [[ESAT Personalities S]]

Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Personalities|South African Theatre Personalities]]

Return to [[Main Page]]

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 http://www.artsmart.co.za/dance/archive/1178.html
-Report by [[Adrienne Sichel]] published in ''The Star'', 5 February 2013.
+Report by [[Adrienne Sichel]] published in ''[[The Star]]'', 5 February 2013.
 Go to [[South African Theatre/Bibliography]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-( 1926-2010) Bookseller, entrepreneur and arts sponsor.
+[[Philip Stein]] (1926-2010). Bookseller, entrepreneur and arts sponsor.
 == Biography ==
-Born in Piketburg in the Western Cape on July 29 1926. His parents had come to South Africa from Lithuania in the early 1920s. In the mid-'40s the family moved to Johannesburg. Stein died on the 4th July, 2010 two weeks after his wife of 60 years, Shirley. The couple had 5 children.
+Born in Piketberg in the Western Cape on July 29 1926. His parents had come to South Africa from Lithuania in the early 1920s. In the mid-'40s the family moved to Johannesburg. Stein died on the 4th July, 2010 two weeks after his wife of 60 years, Shirley. The couple had 5 children.
 == Training ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:07, 6 April 2017
Line 26:		Line 26:

	http://www.artsmart.co.za/dance/archive/1178.html		http://www.artsmart.co.za/dance/archive/1178.html
		+
		+	Report by [[Adrienne Sichel]] published in ''The Star'', 5 February 2013.

	Go to [[South African Theatre/Bibliography]]		Go to [[South African Theatre/Bibliography]]

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 ==Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance==
-While recovering from his illness, he came up with the idea of a series of theatre awards which in 1983 he sold to the then MD of AA Mutual Life, Brian Benfield. The result was what began as the [[Vita Awards|AA Life Theatre Awards]]  in 1983 in Johannesburg. From here, he created [[Vita Promotions]] which for a period of almost 20 years created a whole range of privately funded projects. These included the [[Vita Theatre Awards]] (the name of the sponsoring company would change intermittently over the years), both regional awards in the various provinces, and ultimately national awards; the Vita Art Prize and exhibition; the Vita Craft Now awards and exhibitions; the [[Market Laboratory Community Theatre Festival]], the [[Windybrow Arts Festival]] and the [[FNB Dance Umbrella]].
+While recovering from his illness, he came up with the idea of a series of theatre awards which in 1983 he sold to the then MD of AA Mutual Life, Brian Benfield. The result was what began as the [[Vita Awards|AA Life Theatre Awards]]  in 1983 in Johannesburg. From here, he created [[Vita Promotions]] which for a period of almost 20 years created a whole range of privately funded projects. These included the [[Vita Theatre Awards]] (the name of the sponsoring company would change intermittently over the years), both regional awards in the various provinces, and ultimately national awards; the Vita Art Prize and exhibition; the Vita Craft Now awards and exhibitions; the [[Market Theatre|Market Laboratory Community Theatre Festival]], the [[Windybrow Arts Festival]] and the [[FNB Dance Umbrella]].
 == Awards, etc ==

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 == Awards, etc ==
-At the 2007 [[FNB Dance Umbrella]], a special Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Philip Stein, for his role in creating the [[Vita Awards]], the Dance Umbrella and many other related projects.
+At the 2007 [[FNB Dance Umbrella]], a special Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Stein, for his role in creating the [[Vita Awards]], the Dance Umbrella and many other related projects.
 == Sources ==

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 == Training ==
-he studies history and music at the [[University of the Witwatersrand]].
+He studied history and music at the [[University of the Witwatersrand]].
 == Career ==

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 == Return to ==
-Return to [[ESAT Personalities  N]]
+Return to [[ESAT Personalities  S]]
 Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Personalities|South African Theatre Personalities]]
 Return to [[The ESAT Entries]]
 Return to [[Main Page]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:52, 11 April 2014
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	( 1926-2010) Bookseller, entrepreneur and arts sponsor. Born in Piketburg in the Western Cape on July 29 1926. His parents had come to South Africa from Lithuania in the ~~early1920s~~. In the mid-'40s the family moved to Johannesburg. Stein~~'s involvement in~~ the ~~arts began with a boyhood passion for books which he bought and sold for profit~~. ~~He was a "book smous " (pedlar),~~ he ~~used to laugh. After studying~~ history and music at the [[University of the Witwatersrand]], ~~he got a~~ job at ~~the~~ Vanguard ~~bookshop~~ in Hillbrow~~, run~~ by ~~Trotskyites. Here~~, in the ~~'40s and '50s, he met black intellectuals and white left-wingers such~~ as ~~Ruth First, Harold Wolpe~~ and ~~Denis Goldberg. He was invited by CNA to be its~~ retail books director ~~and in~~ 1962 founded the CNA Literary Award. ~~He spent~~ many years in publishing. While recovering from ~~a bout of ill-health~~, he came up with the idea of a series of theatre awards which in 1983 he sold to the then MD of AA Mutual Life, Brian Benfield. The result was the [[~~Vita~~ Awards]] ~~for performing arts~~. ~~In 1987~~ he ~~came up with the idea for~~ [[~~Dance Umbrella~~]], which ~~would be~~ a ~~local equivalent~~ of ~~Dance Umbrellas in Austin, Texas and London. It got off the ground two~~ years ~~later and has played~~ a ~~central role in popularizing contemporary dance and facilitating the emergence~~ of ~~talented choreographers and dancers~~. ~~Stein, who had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years, died on~~ the ~~4th July, 2010 two weeks after his wife~~ of 60 years, ~~Shirley. The couple had 5 children. While he did not launch corporate sponsorship of~~ the ~~arts in this country~~, ~~he certainly breathed vigorous life into it in~~ the ~~1980s~~ and ~~made~~ the ~~notion of corporate engagement with~~ the ~~arts more widely acceptable than it might otherwise have been. Much of~~ the ~~money that today supports~~ the ~~visual arts, poetry, short stories, opera, ballet, contemporary dance, crafts and community theatre does so because of him~~. ~~A small man of great charm~~, ~~huge drive and impressive intellect~~, he was ~~passionate about art~~, ~~its importance to society and its relevance~~ in the ~~modern world. He was highly effective in communicating this passion to company bosses and~~, ~~at least as important, selling them~~ the ~~business case for pumping their shareholders' money into art~~. ~~It wasn't about charity, he told them, it was about a long~~-~~term return on investment. And over~~ the ~~years his various initiatives paid them back handsomely. There was an enormous wealth~~ of ~~potential talent in South Africa, he told them~~. ~~With their money they could unlock it~~. ~~"Spread it around like manure and see what grows," he famously challenged~~. ~~"You'll find gold in dross," he told them~~. ~~"You've got~~ to ~~fund, experiment, be brave."~~	+	( 1926-2010) Bookseller, entrepreneur and arts sponsor.
		+
		+	== Biography ==
		+
		+	Born in Piketburg in the Western Cape on July 29 1926. His parents had come to South Africa from Lithuania in the early 1920s. In the mid-'40s the family moved to Johannesburg. Stein died on the 4th July, 2010 two weeks after his wife of 60 years, Shirley. The couple had 5 children.
		+
		+	== Training ==
		+
		+	he studies history and music at the [[University of the Witwatersrand]].
		+
		+	== Career ==
		+
		+	Always a booklover, his first job was at The Vanguard Bookshop in Hillbrow and when the shop was eventually bought out by [[CNA]], Stein joined the company as book buyer and later retail books director. In 1962 he founded the [[CNA Literary Award]]. After many years in publishing, until a serious illness led to his retirement in about 1980.
		+
		+	==Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance==
		+
		+	While recovering from his illness, he came up with the idea of a series of theatre awards which in 1983 he sold to the then MD of AA Mutual Life, Brian Benfield. The result was what began as the [[AA Life Theatre Awards]] in 1983 in Johannesburg. From here, he created [[Vita Promotions]] which for a period of almost 20 years created a whole range of privately funded projects. These included the [[Vita Theatre Awards]] (the name of the sponsoring company would change intermittently over the years), both regional awards in the various provinces, and ultimately national awards; the Vita Art Prize and exhibition; the Vita Craft Now awards and exhibitions; the [[Market Laboratory Community Theatre Festival]], the [[Windybrow Arts Festival]] and the [[FNB Dance Umbrella]].
		+
		+	== Awards, etc ==
		+
		+	At the 2007 [[FNB Dance Umbrella]], a special Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Philip Stein, for his role in creating the [[Vita Awards]], the Dance Umbrella and many other related projects.
		+
		+	== Sources ==
		+
		+	http://bookslive.co.za/blog/2010/07/06/rip-the-founder-of-the-cna-literary-award-philip-stein/
		+
		+	http://www.artsmart.co.za/dance/archive/1178.html
		+
		+	Go to [[South African Theatre/Bibliography]]
		+
		+	== Return to ==
		+
		+	Return to [[ESAT Personalities N]]
		+
		+	Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Personalities\|South African Theatre Personalities]]
		+
		+	Return to [[The ESAT Entries]]
		+
		+	Return to [[Main Page]]
		+

	Return to [[ESAT Personalities S]]		Return to [[ESAT Personalities S]]