From celebrating our cultural heritage through jazz, to telling our stories through film, and championing environmental innovation through art, 3 young South Africans are seizing their future through their creative skills.
They are jazz vocalist Sigcobise Mbatyoti, filmmaker Nicole 'Niki' Retief, and multidisciplinary artist Thabang Makgakwe – and all 3 were finalists in the Arts & Culture Trust's (ACT) Nyoloha Scholarship Programme, supported by Nedbank.
Their journeys are a powerful reminder of the importance of this type of programme, which identifies, nurtures and empowers emerging creative talent across South Africa.
Giving voice to heritage
For Sigcobise Mbatyoti, a third-year Bachelor of Music student at Wits University, music is both a calling and a responsibility. Sigcobise grew up in the rural Eastern Cape village of Tyatyora. Her earliest musical influences came from home, where her mother introduced her to South African jazz legends and contemporary artists such as Thandiswa Mazwai and Simphiwe Dana.
Music quickly became central to her identity. She sang in choirs from a young age and was choir captain during her matric year at Victoria Girls' High School in Makhanda. In 2022, the same year she matriculated she was selected as a finalist in the ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme.
'The experience was transformative. The mentorship from Samantha Peo taught me not to measure myself against other people,' she reflects. 'It helped me become confident in my individuality and artistic voice. I realised that I wanted to focus on my African side and I decided to major in African jazz.'
Her mother took out loans to fund Sigcobise's degree, giving her the opportunity to deepen her engagement with African jazz and Xhosa musical traditions. Her work explores the rich vocal traditions of Xhosa culture, including throat-singing techniques and expressive forms passed down through generations.
She is particularly inspired by the renowned Ngqoko Women's Ensemble in the Eastern Cape, whose music serves as a living archive of community life, history and cultural memory. 'Their songs speak about everyday experiences, social issues and community concerns', she says. 'Music becomes a way of documenting life – such as asking for rain or speaking about what is troubling them.'
Sigcobise is currently developing her voice and her own original compositions. 'I am fortunate to have Lindiwe Maxolo, a leading South African jazz vocalist, as my voice coach', she says. 'She is also an ACT alumni, having won the ACT ImpACT Award in 2015 for music and singing.'
She is also pursuing her interest in ethnomusicology – the study and preservation of indigenous musical traditions. At a time when global audiences are increasingly turning their attention to African music, she wants to ensure that traditional music and knowledge is recognised and revived.
'I want to be both a professional singer and an academic', she explains. 'Through my music and research, I want to ensure that our incredible ancient traditions and enculturation or passing down continues to resonate and inspire.'
Art, innovation and climate action
As a self-taught artist, Thabang Makgakwe is showing how creativity can help address some of society's most urgent challenges, including climate change.
The Limpopo-born multidisciplinary artist and 2023 Nyoloha Scolarship Programme finalist works across digital art, photography, filmmaking, illustration and community development. He combines artistic practice with environmental activism.
Now based in Joburg, he says: 'I've learnt that you should never limit yourself as an artist. Art can be a springboard to other professions – from technology to teaching to engineering. I realise my power as an artist is in the climate community and green space.'
Makgakwe, who is currently participating in the Mercedes-Benz Fellowship for young African innovators, says: 'I am working alongside other young people who are developing sustainable solutions for climate change and the green economy, and how we can use art to achieve this. I'm in year 2 now of the 3-year fellowship. It is mainly online as it is based in Germany, but we sometimes have local workshops.'
Over the past 3 years he has participated in a range of international fellowships, and is now a Global Citizen Alumnus and a Ripples of Hope Fellow; a South African–American initiative where young people from both countries meet each other with a focus on humanity and ubuntu.
His commitment to environmental advocacy and education has inspired his latest initiative: a children's book called Green Knowledge, designed for learners from grades 1 to 7. The book introduces concepts such as climate change, renewable energy and environmental responsibility through accessible storytelling and colourful illustrations.
'The future is green. Young people need to understand this', says Makgakwe. Growing up in Limpopo, his grandparents taught him about farming and living in harmony with nature, and his mother taught him about recycling. 'My mother used to collect old fabrics, tins, and plastic. She didn't see them as rubbish. To her, they were materials waiting to be transformed. She would sit outside with her needle and thread, patching together pieces of fabric to make skirts, mats, and curtains. She said, "When your hands are busy, your mind is healing". That stayed with me.
One day, I decided to join her. We started creating art pieces using whatever we could find – bottle caps, wire, old beads, cloth. It was about being resourceful, and turning what we had into something beautiful. My friend Nelson joined us and together we made art inspired by recycling. Those moments showed me that recycling is not just about cleaning the environment, it's also about mental adaptation. It's about changing how we see the world around us. It's a mindset that says: "I can make something from nothing".'
Today, Makgakwe has his own creative company, Peu Creations, which specialises in filmmaking, content creation and storytelling. He also mentors young people in the arts in Gauteng and Limpopo and hopes to establish an arts centre in his home province one day. His motivation is deeply personal. As a child, he struggled with confidence after enduring bullying. Today, he channels those experiences into empowering others. 'I am now a powerful young man and no one can put me down. If they try, my first question is: "Why is this person behaving like this?"', he explains. 'Art helped me find my voice. Now I want to help other young people find theirs.'
Capturing Stories through the lens
Cape Town student filmmaker Niki Retief uses the camera to explore the human experience. She is a 2023 Nyoloha Scholarship Programme finalist, and a final-year student at the SAE Creative Media Institute in Green Point, Cape Town. She imagined her future would be in acting, but during her studies she discovered that she enjoyed being behind the camera more. 'I realised I also loved telling stories through a lens', she says.
The shift opened an exciting new creative path. Today, Niki combines acting, directing and screenwriting, appearing in some of her own student productions which stand out for their contemporary, youth-centred narratives.
One of her short films, Love.exe, is a science-fiction romantic comedy that follows a hopeless romantic called Gwen who becomes trapped inside a virtual reality dating app. 'The film explores themes of self-confidence, identity and connection in the digital age, where the only way that Gwen can escape virtual reality is to make a move on a guy successfully, which she ultimately does,' Niki explains.
The project has already attracted international attention, receiving honourable mentions at film festivals in Italy and Greece while screening locally in Cape Town.
A valuable lesson Niki gained through the ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme came from mentor Samantha Peo 'She introduced us to the concept of the "hero's journey" – a universal narrative structure that underpins many of the world's most powerful stories. She also encouraged us to continuously observe the world around us, which is something I still practise every day.'
The programme also helped her build lasting relationships with fellow artists. 'The biggest impact was the people', Niki says. 'The friendships and connections I made will last a lifetime.'
Now preparing her graduation project, Bokkie, a family adventure set in Cape Town's southern suburbs, Niki is already thinking beyond graduation. With 3 of her peers at SAE – Siphokazi Mthembu, Joshua Nass, and Benicio Da Silva - they have registered a production company together called Moco Productions. 'In terms of financing it, we have some cameras and gear and we are hoping to initially create a body of work and then start charging for our services, creating original South African content.'