With over 3 decades of experience in the South African arts and music industry, James E. French works as a senior consultant at IKS Cultural Consulting in a multifaceted role managing, administering and supporting the company’s projects in the arts.
Before 2022 French was the Manager of Corporate Social Investment at the Southern African Music Rights Organization. During his 7 years at SAMRO he worked with dedicated teams of arts, culture and human rights specialists in designing programmes, running events, researching priority areas, and ensuring the successful and the accountable distribution of funds for numerous successful projects. Before stepping into his role as manager at SAMRO, James had served as the Deputy Director / Administrator of the award-winning visual arts Non-Profit Organisation, the Bag Factory Artists’ Studios in Newtown Johannesburg for 14 years. During this time his compositions featured alongside visual arts works at events like the Gwangju Biennale, and in competitions in South Africa.
In the ‘90s James was a freelance musician, writing music for film and advertising, frequently gigging in the Jazz, Classical and Gospel circuits.
James obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in BMus (Honours) and his Master’s Degree in Arts & Culture Management from Wits – University of the Witwatersrand where he focused his research on organizational sustainability in the arts non-profit sector.
