The Arts &
Culture Trust (ACT) and Nedbank Arts Affinity have announced the list of
professional development projects that will receive grants from the Trust.
For the past 20
years ACT, with the support of Nedbank Arts Affinity, have been supporting and
promoting sustainable businesses and careers in the arts. The Professional
Development Programme supports the development of reliable, sustainable and
vibrant arts in South Africa and is designed to support job opportunities,
develop arts organisations, associations, collectives and arts practitioners.
The second cycle of grants boasts ten deserving recipients for 2015 and spans
the country.
“One of the reasons
we can reflect and celebrate 20 years of a democratic country is because South
Africa has a wealth of artists which contribute to the preservation of our
history, our national heritage and cultures. They spark our imagination: from
the rural heartlands to the corporate skyscrapers - they inspire our diverse
nation to reflect, innovate and move into action. Nedbank and our Arts Affinity
have been making the arts happen for 20 years and together we will continue to
make a difference in our communities,” says Maseda Ratshikuni, head of Cause
Marketing at Nedbank elaborating on Nedbank’s involvement.
Among the projects
supported is Hinterland, a play by
Duncan Buwalda and directed by Caroline Smart which saw its early rehearsal
stages taking place at Stable Theatre in Durban. Hinterland will run at Johannesburg’s Theatre on the Square during
the course of April and May in 2015. The play is a historical comedy-drama
about the fictional meeting of two giants of South Africa’s history: Cecil John
Rhodes and Sol Plaatje. ACT and Nedbank Arts Affinity proudly support the
project by providing employment to four professional actors for one month. For
more information on Hinterland, email
Duncan Buwalda at duncanbuwalda@yahoo.com.
Another project
with a confirmed Durban link is the inaugural production of Spartacus of Africa presented by the
South African National Dance Theatre (SANDT). This promises a mixture of
contemporary dance and classical ballet with a live orchestra and launches in
Johannesburg, going on to tour in Cape Town and ending with a performance at
the Playhouse in Durban on July 23. The grant from ACT will contribute towards
the costs involved of the regional dance coaches and co-ordinators.
The Collaborators
Group Exhibition will take place at the BAT Centre in Durban on February 27. Nontsikelelo
Ngqakayi graduated from the Nelson Mandela University in Fine Arts. She majored
in stained glass, print making, history of art, drawing, and sculpture. ACT and
Nedbank Arts Affinity support Ngqakayi’s initiative to oversee six artists in
KwaZulu-Natal in a group collaboration, creating new prints, paintings,
ceramics and other mediums that can be combined, reworked and integrated within
the KZN arts community. Fees will be allocated towards the costs of
venue/studio hire, purchasing material and publicity.
Also making its way
to KwaZulu-Natal will be Battle of the
Saxes. In 2014, Matthew Lombard commissioned (via SAMRO) a new work for two
saxophones (jazz and classical) with a string quartet and a rhythm section. The
work is intended to promote original South African music in a new and unique
setting by fusing jazz and classical idioms. In 2015, a team, including
Karendra Devroop, will be commissioned to perform this work and other South
African works at several venues in Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and
North-West provinces. The grant from ACT and Nedbank Arts Affinity will be
utilised to fund one of the performances, including performer fees and
transport.
Once-off grants
ranging between R10,000 and R60,000 per grant are given to arts and culture
organisations, associations, cooperatives, networks, individual artists and
practitioners, for a range of activities that support their professional
advancement.
Pieter Jacobs, CEO
of ACT, reflects on the programme: “We are delighted about our beneficiaries'
positive response to the re-articulated criteria of the Trust's funding
programme. Not only have we seen an increase in the number of applications
received, especially from under-served regions, but the quality of applications
has also improved. Moving towards closure of the first round of Professional
Development Programme projects, announced at the beginning of 2014, it is
rewarding to see that ACT's support has had an impact on the areas of
development we set out to improve - job creation, capacity building,
sustainability and audience development. Being selected among 600 applications
during the course of a year is no mean feat and we look forward to taking hands
with the new projects the Trustees of ACT have selected for funding.”
For more
information on all the grant recipients and the ACT Development Programme visit www.act.org.za
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