Stuttafords van Lines Sponsor of the annual competition

Sasol New Signatures is proud to have Stuttafords van Lines as a sponsor of the annual competition.  We sat down with Margarida Fernandes, Fine Art Executive at Stuttafords van Lines, to chat about the partnership and what role the company plays in the overall success of the competition.              

Stuttafords van Lines has been a long-standing partner of Sasol New Signatures - why is it important to the company to support this project and the arts?

Stuttaford van Lines has been transporting artworks for over 150 years. We have always had an interest in the arts, and by partnering with the Sasol New Signatures art competition, we can support the arts and be a part of this prestigious and long-standing competition.

It takes great planning and logistics to collect the artworks from around the country and transport them to the Pretoria Art Museum - explain the logistics/please tells us what this entails?

We work very closely with Nandi Hillard from the Pretoria Arts Association.  Nandi provides us with all the relevant and necessary details, the number of works that have been selected regionally.  We then plan the wrapping and collection of the artworks.  We are given collection dates that we adhere to get the works to Pretoria for the final judging.  We work across our branches to ensure that everything is done timeously.

Are there specific packing techniques required for packing art?

It all depends on the artwork. Is it a sculpture? Is it behind glass? Is it exposed? What mediums have been used? The size of the artwork is also important.  Once we have this information, we can assess how the artwork needs to be wrapped for transport.

Are you an art lover or collector, and if so, what kind of art do you like?

I am definitely an art lover, especially contemporary art.

Why role do you think a competition like Sasol New Signatures plays in South Africa?

Being an artist is not easy. You need to be recognised, and Sasol New Signatures offers artists an opportunity to participate in a prestigious competition, be recognised and showcase their art.

Can you tell us five things of interest about Stuttafords van Lines that we wouldn’t have known?

• Stuttaford van Lines has been around for over 160 years, having started in 1857
• We have branches all around South Africa.
• We have 14 branches/offices strategically located across Southern Africa, including branches in Cape Town, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia and Mozambique.
• We were the first  moving company from an African country to become a member of the FIDI Global Alliance.
• We were founding members of PMA (Professional Movers Association) and Omni (Overseas Moving Network International)