The
Lifetime Achievement and ImpACT award winners of the 15th annual ACT Awards
were announced this week at the Fairway Hotel & Spa, Johannesburg.
The
prestigious Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Lifetime Achievement awards honour
arts professionals whose extraordinary careers have had a profound and lasting
impact on arts, culture and heritage.
Four
highly regarded industry veterans received Lifetime Achievement awards for
their contribution to the arts: author Nadine Gordimer for the newly-inaugurated
Literature award, Welcome Msomi for Theatre, Andrew Verster for Visual Arts and
Jonas Gwangwa for Music.
Nadine
Gordimer, an outspoken critic of apartheid, and one of the leading novelists of
her age, received the inaugural ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. ACT
Trustee Robin Malan together with Eloise Wessels, Chief Executive Officer of
Media24 Books presented the award to Gordimer.
ACT
Trustee, Themi Venturas, together with Gérard Robinson, Chairman of the Board
of the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO), presented
Welcome Msomi with his Theatre award. Msomi is perhaps best known as the
founder and director of the Izulu Dance Theatre and Music Company established
in 1965 in Durban. He has won international acclaim as a playwright,
choreographer and director.
Andrew
Verster boasts an artistic career that spans many decades. His imagination has
touched people through his short stories, articles and radio plays, but his
most significant contribution is to South African visual arts through his body
of work spread over more than fifty innovative top quality solo exhibitions.
ACT Trustee, Trish Downing and CSI Executive Head of the Vodacom Foundation, Mr
Mthobeli Tengimfene presented the Award to Verster.
Jonas
Gwangwa, a Soweto-born product of the turbulent, but musically significant
1950's, electrified the famous Sophiatown music scene. Gwangwa, with his
contemporaries; Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and Caiphus Semenya, is
undoubtedly one of South Africa’s living legends of music. He received his
award from ACT Trustee, Mpho Molepo and the Chief Financial Officer of SAMRO,
Ms Bronwen Harty.
“ACT
is in a unique position to reflect on, and celebrate, the extraordinary lives
and achievements of these worthy recipients. We are truly privileged to be
presenting the ACT Awards in association with partners and our generous
sponsors who not only share our vision, passion and commitment but recognise
the importance of acknowledging the achievements of individuals who make such significant
contributions to the advancement of South African arts and culture”, commented
Pieter Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer of ACT.
The
Lifetime Achievement award recipients are nominated and selected by the ACT
Board of Trustees. Past recipients whose lifetime achievements have contributed
significantly to the enrichment of cultural life in South Africa include,
amongst many others, Gibson Kente, Miriam Makeba, John Kani and Gcina Mhlope.
Last year’s honours went to Mmakgabo Mapula Helen Sebidi (Visual Art); Mannie
Manim (Theatre) and Mimi Coertse (Music).
Also
presented at this highly regarded cultural event are the ImpACT Awards for
Young Professionals. These awards, inaugurated in 2010 and sponsored by the
Distell Foundation, honour young professional artists whose work has made an
impact within the first three years of their professional careers. The 2012
ImpACT Awards went to Phillip Dikotla in the Theatre category; The Muffinz in
the Music & Singing category; Bambo Sibiya, in the Visual Arts category and
Ozlo, South Africa in the Design category.
The
2012 ACT Awards was sponsored by the Vodacom Foundation, SAMRO, DALRO and
Media24 Books. Supporters of the 15th ACT Awards included: Distell Foundation;
Classicfeel Magazine; Business and Arts South Africa (BASA); and The Fairway Hotel
& Golf Resort.
The
Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) is South Africa's premier, independent arts and
culture funding and development agency. This awards event, which is now
celebrating 15 years since inception, has recognised more than 350 individuals
and organisations that have made significant contributions to cultural life in
South Africa. For more information visit www.act.org.za
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