ACT NEW PROJECT FUNDING

Nine projects were selected for support through the ACT Development Programme, supported by the Nedbank Arts Affinity programme and Sun International.

“With the continued and increased support from the Nedbank Arts Affinity clients and renewed support from Sun International, ACT is in a position to increase its allocation of funds to the tune of more than 50% in comparison to project expenditure during the same funding cycle a year ago,” says Pieter Jacobs, Manager of ACT.

At a recent meeting of the Trustees of the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT), nine grants were allocated to a range of projects including visual art, craft, drama, literature and arts training for the youth.

“Sun International is proud to be a sponsor of such a worthy development initiative. The Arts & Culture Trust provides an opportunity to develop, nurture and support the intrinsic talent of young South Africans by giving them a platform not only to learn a skill but more importantly, a way to become confident and responsible young adults,” comments Ashnie Muthusamy, Group Manager: Talent Transformation & Change at Sun International.

The ACT Development Programme is aimed at arts training for the youth, the development of new South African work and professional development and makes provision for all expressions of art including but not limited to Craft, Dance, Music, Theatre, Literature, Visual Art and New Media.

“Nedbank and its Arts Affinity clients continue to support the arts because supporting arts and culture is very important for our society. As Tom Cronin said, ‘Being able to think in different ways and to sense the possibilities may inspire the economist, physicist, and political scientist to see interconnections and hypothesize about variables in ways they may not have considered. The arts can free us to think and dream and sense, and this often proves invaluable. So as Nedbank Affinity clients continue to use their accounts we will continue to support the arts,” says Maseda Ratshikuni from Nedbank.

ACT is open for applications for Development grants on an ongoing basis. The next funding cycle closes on September 30, 2012, and the outcome will be available by November 13, 2012.

For more information about the ACT Development Programme or to submit an application online visit www.act.org.za

NB: By submitting an application applicants accept that ACT will only release the outcome as specified on the website and that the decision of the ACT Board of Trustees regarding the outcome of applications is final and no further correspondence will be entered into.