FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11 November 2022
THE ARTS & CULTURE TRUST (ACT) TLHOLO RESOURCES PAGE GUIDES PROACTIVE ARTISTS TO BECOME ENTREPRENEURIAL IN THEIR PRACTICE
If you are a budding entrepreneur working in the arts and culture sector or striving to start up an arts related business then start now with weekly episodes on the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Tlholo Resources website page. Developed and designed with easy-to-learn visual and audio options, the ACT Thlolo Project introduces important basic business practices to help artists with new and up-and-coming business ventures.
The ACT Thlolo Project is perfecty suited to the proactive artist who is ready to take control of their future. Launching on 15 November 2022, ACT Tlholo Tuesdays features a new episode every Tuesday between November 2022 and January 2023.
Introducing Pule, an inspiring entrepreneur featured on the ACT Tlholo Resources page animation series. This budding impresario wishes to stage theatre shows or host acting classes in his community, but he is battling to find resources and he doesn’t have the knowledge to promote his shows or to start his dream business.
Pule goes on a learning journey through the ACT Tlholo Resources page where he gains practical knowledge and begins to implement tools to equip him in his arts and culture business venture. Pule then invites arts practitioners and emerging entrepreneurs who have not been able to gain access to programme participation with the ACT or other development organisations but still wish to improve their professional practice to join him on the ACT Tlholo Project. The page also features downloadable business templates that can be used to further professionalise arts businesses.
The ACT Tlholo Resources page, sponsored by Nedbank, was developed using expertise and practical experiences from South African arts practitioners to create animation videos, comic strips (in all 11 official languages) and podcasts of conversations with experts and artists focussing on how they developed their businesses to survive and thrive in the competitive arts sector. These resources can help struggling arts professionals to think more creatively about how they can use what they have and what they know to grow sustainable businesses and support their communities. The resource are backed by a strong asset-based community development (ABCD) ethos and suggest ideas that are practical and implementable in unique South African contexts and encourage starting with what you have and what you know.
‘We want to inspire and motivate emerging arts practitioners to engage with and learn from the ACT Tlholo resources. Their involvement and that of practitioners already in the marketplace helps to uplift the arts and culture sector to become more sustainable, thereby supporting and developing the industry. It’s been an important step for us to start developing content that includes all the official South African languages. Producing information that is practical, accessible and inclusive is key for how we engage with the arts and culture sector. Our community is national and stretches across urban, peri-urban and rural communities, it’s therefore important that everyone is able to engage with this content in their respective language,’ says ACT Interim Chief Executive Officer, Jessica Denyschen.
‘The word tlholo /tlhōlo/ is Sesotho for ‘victory’ or ‘an act of defeating an enemy or opponent’. In this instance the enemy is the general lack of opportunity and resources for arts practitioners countrywide,’ adds Tobie Badenhorst, Head of Group Sponsorships and Cause Marketing at Nedbank. ‘Through the ACT Tlholo Project we want to empower our arts practitioners to grow and make a living from the arts in every part of our country. At the same time we want to contribute to an increase in the number of people who recognise the value of the arts.’
The ACT Tlholo animation videos are available now as a comic series in all South African languages. The ACT Tlholo Web Series is also available on the ACT Facebook page.
Why wait? Get started today by visiting the ACT website at www.act.org.za or keep in touch via ACT social media platforms. #ACTtlholo #acttlholoproject #UncoveringSolutions #ACTstrat #ACTtlholotuesdays #NedbankArtsAffinity
To keep in touch with the ACT, please visit their website, follow them on Twitter or like their Facebook page.
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Over 28 years of arts support
The ACT is South Africa’s premier independent development and arts investment organisation. The primary aim of ACT is to increase the capacity for arts and culture initiatives to create sustainable futures, through development and investment in innovative, sustainable projects that make a meaningful contribution to society. Through structured development programmes, ACT provides support to 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. For more information, please visit the ACT website, follow them on Twitter or like their Facebook page.
ABOUT NEDBANK
In partnership with ACT, the Nedbank Arts Affinity has donated more than R28 million over 28 years to support over 830 arts, culture, and heritage development projects countrywide. If you would like to make a difference in the lives of talented young artists in South Africa, simply link your Nedbank Greenbacks to the Arts Affinity and Nedbank will donate money to ACT, at no cost to you. The Arts Affinity currently supports the ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme, the ACT Thuthukisani Programme, and the ACT Tlholo Project. For more information, visit any Nedbank branch, call us on 0860 555 111 or visit nedbankarts.co.za.