The National
Arts Council (NAC) of South Africa has awarded R23 million in grants to 116
organisations countrywide who will receive funding for the next three years in
various arts disciplines. This is an increase from the last funding cycle where
98 organisations received three year funding.
To support
the strategic initiative of promoting equity in the arts, it is encouraging to
note that 108 of these beneficiaries work with the youth and 50 projects that
received funding are steered by women.
The
provincial allocation followed the usual trend with Gauteng leading in the
number of funded projects (39), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (17), Limpopo (15)
and the Western Cape (14). Freestate and Mpumalanga both had nine funded
projects; Eastern Cape and Northern Cape each had five and the North West with
three.
Furthermore,
36 multi-discipline organisations received grants; 23 in the music field and
dance 18. Ten theatre organisations were awarded funding; craft receiving 12,
visual arts seven and literature ten.
A call for
proposals for the three year funding cycle for arts organisation support opened
in November last year with the arts community required to submit business plans
outlining their artistic programmes and budgets for a three year period from
2016 to 2018. This was the fifth time the NAC has requested funding proposals
for this funding category. Nearly 500 applications had been received when
submissions closed at the end of January.
The
adjudication panel consisted of Jayesperi Moopen (AOSF chairperson and
multi-discipline chairperson), Kim Mathews (music chairperson), Erika Elk
(craft chairperson), Georgina Thomson (dance chairperson), Nakedi Ribane
(theatre chairperson), Nontobeko Ntombela (visual arts chairperson) and David Maahlamela
(literature chairperson). Further assistance was enlisted from other members of
advisory including Nthabiseng Makhene (craft discipline), Londiwe Langa
(multi-discipline) and Wandile Mgcodo (theatre discipline).
The NAC
Beneficiary Profile is a developmentally oriented system that aims to redress
and transform the sector. It guides the funding process in meeting the
objectives of the NAC. Furthermore, it guides the budget allocation to the
various life cycle stages of organisations. The Profile identified three life
cycle stages of organisations and the kind of support to be offered as follows:
-Foundation
Phase (20%) for emerging individuals and organisations (0-5 years,
-Intermediary
Phase (30%) for intermediate or mid-career artist and organisations (5- 10
years)
-Established
Phase (50%) for established artists and organisations (10 and more earmarked
for shorter term funding)
Says
Rosemary Mangope, CEO of the NAC: “As we celebrate the central role played by
South African women during the month of August, the NAC’s focus on empowering
and upskilling women across all arts fields continues. Central to our mandate
is the importance of facilitating strong leadership roles for women of all ages
within the creative industries, where their voices continue to be
under-represented. We are proud of the progress we have made in this important
sector to date and the NAC will continue to work towards empowering the current
and next generation of women during Women’s Month and throughout the year, not
just in South Africa but on the African continent and worldwide.”
For more
information visit www.nac.org.za
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