The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) reminds all interested parties that entries for the much anticipated annual ImpACT Awards close on 6 September 2015. ACT, in partnership with Sun International, will host the ceremony to recognize and celebrate excellence within the arts, culture and creative sectors in South Africa. They are inviting the public to nominate eligible young professionals for this year’s awards.
2014 ImpACT Award recipients, Jade Bowers, Thabo Makhetha-Kwinana and Bevan de Wet. Picture by Gareth Jacobs.
The awards have gained traction and national acclaim throughout the industry since their establishment in 1998. The ImpACT Awards are presented to individuals under the age of 30 and companies or organisations operating in South Africa that fall in the first five years of their professional careers.
In addition, this year ACT is introducing the dance category – which makes it a total of five categories in which young professional artists will be honoured with the prestigious ImpACT Awards.
The ImpACT Awards are presented in five broad arts categories with selected disciplines being eligible for consideration in each one. The public is given until Sunday, 6 September 2015 to nominate young professionals for the following categories:
- ImpACT Award for Visual Art – Artists working in the mediums of Fine Art, Sculpting, Public Installations and Photography are eligible for nomination.
- ImpACT Award for Theatre – Artists practicing the disciplines Acting, Directing and Writing for Theatre, Musical Theatre and Physical Theatre are eligible for nomination.
- ImpACT Award for Music & Singing – Classical, Contemporary, Hip Hop, traditional, and Jazz musicians as well as music composers, producers, musicians and singers from other spheres are eligible for nomination.
- ImpACT Award for Design – Artists working in the areas of Craft, Jewellery, Fashion Design, Graphic Design and Arts-based Web Design are eligible for nomination.
- ImpACT Award for Dance – Trained contemporary, traditional, African, ballet and other dancers and choreographers are eligible for nomination.
“The ImpACT awards for Young Professionals is ACT’s way of honouring those artists who produce extraordinary and cutting-edge work. They are those professionals who move us in ways we never imagined possible. We hope that this kind of acknowledgement encourages them to continue pushing boundaries and that in years to come they will join the ranks of Lifetime Achievement winners we so admire for the game-changing work they do,” says ACT CEO Pieter Jacobs.
Winners will receive a cash prize of R2 000.00, a certificate, a spread in Creative Feel Magazine worth over R30 000.00 and additional PR opportunities that will be generated through the ACT Awards. Furthermore, ImpACT Award recipients will get ongoing backing from ACT in the form promotional support in their professional careers.
Some of the previous ImpACT winners include: The Muffinz, Blessing Ngobeni, Phillip Dikotla, Bambo Sibiya, Camron Andrews, Motlaji Ditodi, Ozlo Clothing Store, Bevan de Wet, Poorvi Bhana, Nomfundo Xaluva, Thabo Makhetha Designs, Kyla Davis and Jade Bowers.
Finalists will be announced at three media briefings that will take place in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, respectively, in September. Winners of ImpACT Awards are selected by an independent panel of judges and will be announced at the awards ceremony scheduled to take place in Johannesburg in November 2015.
Please follow the link to submit your nominations: http://tinyurl.com/lc29a66 or visit http://www.act.org.za/programmes/awards.html
Featuring prominently as part of the ACT Awards are the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards. These awards are awarded to deserving individuals who have made a profound impact and who have contributed significantly to the enrichment of the arts and culture environment in South Africa during their lives. The categories for Lifetime Achievement Awards are Visual Arts, Theatre, Arts Advocacy, Music and Literature.
The 2015 ImpACT Awards are presented in partnership with the Distell Foundation and Sun International. The ACT Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented in partnership with Nedbank Arts Affinity, Media24 Books, DALRO, JTI, Creativefeel Magazine and SAMRO.
For more information about the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) please visit www.act.org.za
About the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) – The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) is South Africa’s premier independent arts funding and development agency. The primary aim of ACT is to increase the amount of funding available for arts and culture initiatives, and to apply these funds to innovative, sustainable projects that make a meaningful contribution to society. Through structured funding programmes, ACT provides support for all expressions of arts and culture, including literature, music, visual art, theatre and dance, and the support extends to festivals, community arts initiatives, arts management, arts education and arts administration. Follow ACT on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/actorgza or like the Trust’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arts-Culture-Trust-ACT/162339817162875.
About the Distell Foundation – Distell, one of South Africa’s premier producers of fine wines, spirits and ready to drink alcoholic beverages, has actively been supporting CSI (Corporate Social Investment) projects in communities where they have a business interest. Support is given through the Distell Foundation, by focusing on the development of the creative arts sector, especially emerging talent in the performing and visual arts. A big focus area of the foundation is the support of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) prevention initiatives as well as youth development programmes which lead to individuals making healthy choices in life. Remedial art therapy programmes are also supported to assist vulnerable individuals who are affected by alcohol misuse. Other focus areas include Education, Skills Development (life skills and hard skills), Job Creation, and Environmental Conservation. For more information please visit www.distell.co.za.
About Sun International – The Sun International Group has a diverse portfolio of assets including world class five star hotels, modern and well located casinos, and some of the world’s premier resorts. Their destinations offer experiential luxury, enduring quality and incredible adventure, supported by an authentic dedication to personal service. Their approach has been to differentiate their hotels, resorts and casinos in architecture, service, experience, location and the mix of entertainment and activities. Creating lasting memories for their guests and customers is a core part of their DNA. They’ve created some the world’s most iconic hotels ranging from The Royal Livingstone Hotel at Victoria Falls, to The Palace of the Lost City at Sun City and The Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town. They place a strong emphasis on being responsible corporate citizens through their contributions and commitment to the economy, communities and the environment. They are committed to the development of all their employees and they make sure that equal opportunities and economic empowerment form the backbone of their human resource practices.
About Nedbank Arts Affinity – The Nedbank Arts Affinity is a proud supporter of the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT). Since the inception of ACT in 1994, Nedbank has raised and distributed nearly R15 million through our Arts Affinity Programme, in support of more than 800 South African arts, culture and heritage development projects, at no cost to our clients. To open a Nedbank Arts Affinity account please visit any Nedbank branch or call 0860 DO GOOD (36 4663). For more information please visit www.nedbankarts.co.za.
The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) – Established in 1962, with the key objective to protect the intellectual property of its composer, songwriter, and publisher members, the organisation’s primary focus is to administer the various music rights of Copyright on behalf of writer and publisher members. The collecting society, as it is known, is mainly concerned with the collection of license fees for the use of its members’ musical works by various music users, the distribution of royalties to these members, and the promotion of Copyright law. For more information, please visit www.samro.org.za.
The Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Organisation (DALRO) – DALRO is a multi-purpose copyright society that collects royalties for the use of copyright-protected works on behalf of authors and publishers, which it then distributes back to the correct copyright-owner. As a custodian of copyright and the protection of rightsholders’ works, DALRO’s main areas of administration are reprographic reproduction rights (photocopying from published editions), public performance rights (including stage rights for book musicals and dramas) and reproduction rights (whether for publishing or copying) in works of visual art. For more information please visit www.dalro.co.za.
About Media24 Books – Media24 Books is a division of Media24 and forms part of the Naspers group of companies. It comprises the trade publishers NB Publishers and Jonathan Ball Publishers, the schools publishing group Via Afrika Education, the higher education publisher Van Schaik Publishers and the book club business Leserskring/Leisure Books.
About JTI – JTI, a member of the Japan Tobacco Group of Companies, is a leading international tobacco manufacturer. It markets world-renowned brands such as Camel, Winston and Mevius. Other global brands include Benson & Hedges, Silk Cut, Sobranie, Glamour and LD. With headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and about 26,000 employees worldwide, JTI has operations in more than 120 countries. For more information, visit www.jti.com.
About Creative Feel Magazine – Creative Feel Magazine is an award winning monthly arts and culture magazine that brings the best in classical and jazz music, dance, visual arts, film and theatre, as well as food and travel, to its readers. The magazine is dedicated to promoting arts and culture in South Africa. Creative Feel Magazine has garnered many prestigious awards, including the Arts and Culture Trust (ACT) Awards, as well as SAPPI PICA Award for excellence in publishing and the coveted BASA (Business and Arts in South Africa) Award.