Over the years the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) has consistently supported young talent in the arts and honoured those who have significantly contributed to the industry. To mark the 19th year of the prestigious ACT Awards, South Africa’s premier independent arts funding and development agency, will pay homage to both emerging and established artists.
To date, the ACT Awards have recognised over 150 individuals and organisations for their significant contribution to art, culture and heritage in South Africa. These awards show the sustainable impact ACT pursues in the creative industry. 2016 will see ACT partner with the Distell Foundation, The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) and Sun International to see yet another group of young professionals being lauded for the remarkable impression they have made in the first five years of their careers.
The ImpACT Awards for young professionals are given annually to honour young artists or businesses that have reached a notable level in their career. Giving the masses a voice through the public nomination process, ACT proudly boasts an excellent selection of these individuals in the categories of Theatre, Visual Art, Music, Dance and Design.
ACT CEO, Pieter Jacobs says of the ImpACT Awards finalists; “We are thrilled to announce the 2016 list of phenomenal finalists who are all worthy of accolades. Receiving an ImpACT Award is an important milestone that often marks the beginning of an impactful trajectory.”
2016 will be the sixth year the Distell Foundation partner with ACT on the ImpACT Awards for Young Professionals. “The Distell Foundation is immensely proud of its long-standing commitment to the arts and culture opportunities in South Africa as the ImpACT Awards contribute significantly towards transformation and positive change in the industry,” says Simoné Benjamin, Arts and Culture Controller for the Distell Foundation. “The Distell Foundation believes in offering alternative opportunities for communities to thrive and open up people’s minds to more possibilities. Youth development is one of the main focus areas of the Distell Foundation and we regard art as a catalyst that could be utilized to help shape our youth into empowered adults, capable of making responsible choices.”
Sun International’s Group Manager of Socio-Economic Development, Nancy Ncube echoes these sentiments. “A large part of Sun International’s core business is in the arts and supporting these awards enables us to help recognise and nurture talent, particularly young talent,” she says. “We all want our hard work to be acknowledged, these Awards, to me, are our way of acknowledging the enormous talent this country and in fact this continent has.”
Beneficiary Relations and Liaison Manager for the National Lotteries Commission, Sershan Naidoo, who also sits on this year’s panel of judges says the NLC, in line with Government’s National Development Plan, is committed to promote youth and their activities by making funding available to such participation. “Recognition of the efforts of these young arts and culture practitioners leads to more and better job opportunities, which is another focus of the NLC,” he says. “We want to see these young artists make an impact on other young artists across our country.”
As a judge, Naidoo says he anticipates great things. “I’m looking to follow the progress of these young practitioners. I’m hoping to see new and different works emerge as a result of the ImpACT Awards. I’m looking forward to seeing the impact these artists have on their communities and new artists.”
Naidoo’s fellow judges this year are; ACT chairperson, Melissa Goba; Dance Umbrella Director, Georgina Thomson; actress, playwright and voice coach, Motshabi Tyelele; and award-winning pianist and educator, Andre Petersen. They will have the arduous task of selecting a winner in each of the five categories.
Each winner will receive R10,000 and additional PR opportunities that will be generated through the ACT Awards. ImpACT Award recipients will also get on-going backing from ACT in the form promotional support in their professional careers.
The cornerstone of the ACT Awards is the presentation of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards for Visual Arts, Theatre, Arts Advocacy, Music, Dance and Literature. Lifetime Achievement Award winners are nominated and selected by the current and previous ACT Trustees, the recipient is someone that the sponsors are proud to acknowledge for their contribution to the arts.
The judges specifically choose winners who stand out due to the artistic excellence of their work; their experience in the industry and the impact this has had on their community and the commerce of the creative industry as a whole.
The 19th annual ACT Awards is hosted by Sun International in association with the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) and is supported by the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO), the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO), Media24 Books, the Nedbank Arts Affinity, JTI, Creative Feel Magazine and the Distell Foundation.
For more information about the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) please visit www.act.org.za.
2016 IMPACT AWARDS FINALISTS
Visual Art
Chepape Makgato
Khehla Chepape Makgato was born in Johannesburg and raised in Makotopong village, outside Polokwane in Limpopo. Makgato has the diploma equivalence for Fine Arts majoring in Printmaking from Artist Proof Studio and a Diploma in Media Practice majoring in Journalism through Boston Media House. Makgato was one of two South African delegates and one of three SADC regional youth delegates to the 2012 Africa Utopia Youth Arts, Cultural and Olympia Festivals of the World at the Southbank Centre in London, UK. He has participated in numerous art exhibitions and fairs both locally and internationally. Makgato collaborated with William Kentridge on a project in January 2015 and continues to work on some small projects for Kentridge. He has had solo shows in 2013 (MARIKANA – Truth, Probability & Paradox), 2014 (VOICES FROM THE KOPPIE – Towards Speculative Realism), 2015 (MARIKANA – The Rituals) and 2016 (Manuscripts Found From The Koppie) to be exhibited in Cape Town. In 2014 he won a studio art bursary from the African Arts Trust to be a resident artist at Assemblage Studios. He is also an inaugural recipient of 2016 Art Across Oceans Residency at Kohl Children’s Museum in Chicago, USA in partnership with Play Africa. Makgato now works fulltime as an artist at Assemblage Studios and freelance arts writer for ArtAfrica, The Journalist, Ampers and various online publications.
Francois Knoetze
Born in Cape Town in 1989, Knoetze is a performance artist, sculptor and filmmaker. He holds a BA Fine Arts degree from Rhodes University and an MFA degree from Michaelis School of Fine Art, UCT. Knoetze’s work retraces the life cycles of discarded objects and explores junctures between material and social histories. His most recent work, Cape Mongo, formed part of the Grahamstown National Arts Festival Main Programme in 2015 and the Global Graduate Programme at Design Indaba 2016. He has participated in various group exhibitions, such as U/Tropia at the Wiener Festwochen in Germany (2015), and Designing Futures at the Lagos Photo Festival (2015).
Loyiso Mkize
Mkize is a 29-year-old visual artist based in Cape Town. Born in Butterworth, Eastern Cape, Mkize developed a love for art from the age of 5 and has followed his passion to this day becoming a fine artist and comic book illustrator. Mkize’s creation KWEZI, a proudly South African superhero comic book series about a young city dweller who discovers he has superhuman abilities which leads him on a journey of self-discovery and realization of purpose. Interested in African identity, Mkize has built a career in Fine arts where he has exhibited both locally and internationally. His paintings are rich with cultural, historic and social tones that carry through his portrayal of life and experiences. The overarching force behind his work is telling the African story above all and articulating the varied textures, colours, ideas, thus forming his lifelong narrative and aesthetic driven artistic journey.
Music
Benjamin Jephta
Bassist and composer, Benjamin Jephta has already made a name for himself as one of South Africa’s premier jazz double bass and electric bass players. Although Jephta grew up in Mitchells Plain, it was when he attended Muizenberg High School that he fostered a love for jazz under the mentorship of his music teacher Fred Kuit. Aside from performing in venues and festivals locally since the age of 15, Jephta has also performed with various orchestras and small ensembles in Africa, Europe and Asia. A graduate of the jazz programme at the prestigious South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town, he graduated in 2013 with the fourth year class medal. Jephta has performed with a range jazz musicians including McCoy Mrubata, Sibongile Khumalo, Paul Hanmer, Feya Faku, Jimmy Dludlu, Simphiwe Dana, Hugh Masekela, Marcus Wyatt, Kyle Shepherd and many others. He’s debut album Homecoming has been nominated for both a Metro FM and SAMA award. He has also performed with various South African artists such as Mi Casa, Cassper Nyovest, Tresor, Lira and many more.
Thandi Ntuli
Ntuli was born in 1987 in one of South Africa’s largest townships, Soshanguve (Pretoria). She comes from a lineage of rich musical heritage, being the niece of guitarist, pianist and lead vocalist of 70’s pop fusion band Harari (The Beaters), Selby Ntuli. At the age of 4, she started taking classical piano lessons under the tutelage of Ada Levkowitz. However, her keen interest for jazz was only kindled later in life, leading her to enroll and complete a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance at The University of Cape Town. Since the release of her debut jazz album, The Offering, which she released independently, Ntuli is fast making an imprint in the local jazz scene with her unique voice. The Offering has received critical acclaim as well as numerous awards and recognition since its release in 2014, a Metro FM Award nomination for Best Urban Jazz in 2015.
Tumi Mogorosi
Aged 29, 2014 SAMA Award nominee, for best Jazz category, Tumi Mogorosi is increasingly building a reputation in the South African jazz scene. Mogorosi was born in the Free State however he grew up in Soweto. Later in life, he moved to The East Rand where encountered the discipline of music. Mogorosi has performed alongside Feya Faku, Zim Ngqawana, Herbie Tsoaeli as well as Andile Yenana. In 2015, he recorded a duo album called Deliverance with South African pianist, Pule Pheto. He has also recorded another duo album with the vocalist Gabisile Motuba called Sanctum Sanctorum. His debut and SAMA nominated album, Project Elo, was self-released in 2014 and re-released by a London-based record company worldwide. Project Elo has received international acclaim and awards including the 2015 Standard Bank Ovation Award. Mogorosi was selected to take part in the Pro-Helvetia residency 2015 programme where he collaborated and formed friendships with Swiss musicians. He was invited as an artist and speaker at the Bayreuth African Institute of Advance Studies, presenting a paper and in collaboration with an Academic in an installation on sound and meaning. Between 2014 and 2016, Mogorosi has been active in the international festival scene. He has been invited to play at festivals around the world such as the 2015 Transmusicales in France (Renne), The 2016 Cape Town jazz festival in South Africa and was invited to the Atlanta Jazz Festival in May this year.
Theatre
Philip Rademeyer
Philip Rademeyer is a writer, director and co-founder of the award-winning theatre collective, Rust Co-Operative. His work, known for its engagement with social and political issues, has won international and local awards and nominations, most notably at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, the National Arts Festival, Amsterdam Fringe Festival, Clover Aardklop Festival, and the Fleur du Caps. His work has shown at the Artscape and Market Theatres, and at various festivals and independent venues across South Africa. The View and Siembamba showed in Dublin and Amsterdam respectively, while The View and Ashes were published by Junkets Publishers.
Mkhululi Z. Mabija
Mabija graduated from Tshwane University of Technology with a B.A in Musical Theatre Performance (2006) and from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing (2010). At the age of twenty-four, he became the youngest adjunct professor at New York University teaching a subject called South African Culture through History, Art and Media. Mkhululi has written many operas and musicals with various composers. Mkhululi has adapted Athol Fugard’s novel, Tsotsi for the musical theatre stage with composer and singer, Zwai Bala. Tsotsi will premiere November 2017.
Thenx
Thenx is a sketch comedy group made up of four young women who met at the University of the Witwatersrand. Kitty Moepang (27), Tumy Motsoatsoe (28), MoMo Matsunyane (27), and Zethu Dlomo (27) are passionate about creating work that holds up a critical mirror to society. They are known for their use of satire and parody to capture the tensions and struggles of everyday life in a comical way. Though their focus is theatre, they are also active on other platforms like Facebook where they are able to reach and engage with large and diverse audiences on various topics. In 2015, Thenx hosted the 5th Annual Savannah Comics’ Choice Awards held at the Teatro, Montecasino and took part in the Vernacular Spectacular show at the Lyric Theatre. They were also invited to perform at the Tedx Johannesburg conference which took place at the Soweto Theatre. Their most popular theatre shows include The Triple M Mammmas! and The People Shall Kurk!, which were performed at the PopArt Centre in Maboneng. This year, Thenx features in a TV show called Walala Wasala. Their latest show Azanya is Five To was performed at various theatres including the National Arts Festival 2016.
Design
Jody Paulsen
Jody Paulsen was born in 1987 in Cape Town, where he continues to live and work. He specialised in Print Media at the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Arts. On graduating, in 2009, Paulsen was awarded the Kathrine Harris Print Cabinet Award. In 2012, Paulsen won the Jules Kramer Departmental Scholarship Award and went on to complete his Masters Degree, also at UCT’s Michaelis School of Fine Art, with his solo exhibition What You Want, Whenever You Want It in 2013. Notable group exhibitions include: 2015’s Young, Gifted and Black, curated by Hank Willis Thomas, in Cape Town; Making Africa at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (2015); Poppositions at Canal Warf in Brussels, Belgium (2015); MiArt 2014 in Milan, Italy and START Art Fair 2014 in London, United Kingdom. Paulsen has also collaborated, with fashion designer Adriaan Kuiters, as Creative Director of Adriaan Kuiters + Jody Paulsen (AKJP) to present multiple collections at Mercedes-Benz Cape Town Fashion Week (2013-2016), and notably, at New York Fashion Week in 2015. AKJP has most recently in 2016, participated in the Generation Africa fashion show at Pitti Uomo in Florence, Italy.
Katherine-Mary Pichulik
Katherine-Mary Pichulik, born in 1987 in Johannesburg, is the founder of and designer at PICHULIK, an international jewellery design and manufacturer based in Cape Town, South Africa. PICHULIK is committed to crafting and innovating high-end, quality bracelets, neckpieces, earrings and handbags for the South African and international fashion markets. Her designs are fashioned from rope and found materials from across Africa and are inspired by the women on the continent, local craftspeople and the alchemy of reimagined materials. PICHULIK has a sustainable value chain that extends from the crafters to its buyers and sends PICHULIK’s message to everyone who comes into contact with it: PICHULIK jewellery is made for brave women, by brave women. In 2016, Vogue Italia listed PICHULIK as one of 10 jewellery designers in the world to watch. As a South African business woman, Katherine-Mary has grown her business from an apartment to an internationally recognised brand sold in 14 countries.
Margot Molyneux
Margot Molyneux established her Cape Town based fashion studio in 2011, focused on producing well made, seasonal collections of women’s wear. The 28-year-old Molyneux designs and produces each item with the intention to make garments which are versatile and comfortable, while focusing on design that is classic yet subtly striking. Molyneux sees Cape Town as a muse; greatly enjoying the beauty of the city and using it, as well as art and traditional methods of print making, as inspiration in her colour choices and in her textiles designs. She credits her works with local colour technicians at the dye house and print makers at the printers as the difference in her distinctive lines and designs. She calls her practise an approachable studio and invites customers to come over and see the designs take shape first hand.
Dance
Oscar Nhlanhla Buthelezi
25-year-old, Vosloorus-born Oscar Buthelezi, is a Moving Into Dance Mophatong (MIDM) dancer and choreographer. Buthelezi was a finalist in the prestigious Kurt Jooss Choreography Prize. With over ten years Dance experience and a growing repertoire, Buthelezi is well on his way to realising his aspirations. Buthelezi was assistant choreographer on Jessica Nupen’s Romeo & Juliet: Rebellion & Johannesburg, which premiered in Germany (2015) and in South Africa, opening the 2016 Dance Umbrella Festival. He has just been named as M&G’s Top 200 Young South Africans and was commissioned to choreograph Ilembe for Sibikwa at the National Arts Festival this year.
Sunnyboy Motau
Named among M&G’s Top 200 young South Africans, a 2015 Naledi Theatre Award nominee, and an acclaimed choreographer and dancer, the dynamic powerhouse of Sunnyboy Motau is set on a road called success. Beginning in community arts groups in Alexandra, he trained at Moving into Dance where he continues to work. His collaborative commission by the Dance Umbrella 2015 was among the top three of the National Arts Festival. His co-choreography with Jessica Nupen toured Germany 2015, opened the Dance Umbrella in 2016 and tours Italy in September. Currently Motau is choreographing for the Playhouse Company in Durban after a successful production for The Market Theatre in February and the HIFA Pop-Up Festival in Harare in May.
Angelique Harris
Ranked 11th in the world for Rhythmic Gymnastics in 2005, Harris went on to be the only South African to study at the Royal Ballet School, Whitelodge, London in 20 years. These experiences have impacted her style as a young SA choreographer with her works receiving the Drum Café Choreographic Award, SAIBC contemporary gold medal in 2014 and 2016, CIBC USA contemporary and musicality award, VKIBC New York bronze contemporary medal, AIDT choreographic bursary in memory of late Henri Noppe and contributing towards a YAGP New York silver medal and a Geneé IBC Gold medal since 2013. Kirk Peterson, former ABT Principal Dancer and internationally acclaimed choreographer has recently recommended Harris to Cincinnati Ballet for inclusion in their Women Choreographers Programme. Her intention is to leave a legacy of choreography telling her story in the hope of encouraging and motivating young individuals to not follow in the well-beaten path but rather forge their own unique way, while showing them how to deal with the emotional challenges of a young aspiring artist, irrespective of your social standing.
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 and development 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 or like the Trust’s Facebook page or visit the ACT website.
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. Sun International Group’s 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. The Group places 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. For more information, please visit www.suninternational.com.
About the National Lotteries Commission (NLC)
The NLC relies on funds from the proceeds of the National Lottery. The Lotteries Act guides the way in which NLC funding may be allocated. The intention of NLC funding is to make a difference to the lives of all South Africans, especially those more vulnerable and to improve the sustainability of the beneficiary organisations. Available funds are distributed to registered and qualifying non-profit organisations in the fields of charities; arts, culture and national heritage; and sport and recreation. By placing its emphasis on areas of greatest need and potential, the NLC contributes to South Africa’s development. For more information, visit www.nlcsa.org.za.
About Nedbank Arts Affinity
The Nedbank Arts Affinity is a proud supporter of the ACT. Since the inception of the ACT in 1994, Nedbank has raised and distributed more than R16 million through its Arts Affinity Programme, in support of more than 800 South African arts, culture and heritage development projects, at no cost to their clients. To open a Nedbank Arts Affinity account please visit any Nedbank branch or call 0860 555 111, or click here for more information.
About 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 rights holders’ 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. For more information, please visit www.media24.com/books.
About Japan Tobacco International (JTI)
Japan Tobacco International (JTI) firmly believes in the fundamental role that arts and culture play in the development of a country and in the growth of local communities. The company’s commitment to culture is in fact part of its corporate values. Over the years, JTI has set itself apart through its special commitment to supporting cultural heritage projects in the countries where it operates. JTI is a member of the Japan Tobacco Group of Companies (JT), a leading international tobacco product manufacturer. Headquartered in Geneva, JTI operates in 120 countries and has over 26,000 employees. For more information, please 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 the SAPPI PICA Award for excellence in publishing and the coveted BASA (Business and Arts in South Africa) Award. For more information, please visit www.creativefeel.co.za.
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 for more than 5 decades. The Foundation strives to create shared value for both the business and the communities thus contributing towards the prosperity of a stable democratic South Africa for all. The company’s social investment and performance efforts aim to minimise and mitigate the possible harmful impact on society caused by the company’s operations by investing in a variety of initiatives linked to prevention and the harmful impact of alcohol abuse. The Foundation invests in programmes which focus on the prevention of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), Youth Development, Job Creation and Entrepreneurship supported by Arts and Culture initiatives. www.distell.co.za.
Business and Arts South Africa (NPC) is an internationally recognised South African development agency with a suite of integrated programmes implemented nationally and internationally. BASA encourages mutually beneficial partnerships between business and the arts, securing the future development of the arts sector in South Africa and contributing to corporate success through Shared Value. BASA was founded in 1997 as a joint initiative of the Department of Arts and Culture and the business sector as a public/private partnership. For more information on BASA contact us on 011 447 2295/89 or visit our website: www.basa.co.za.