(ACT Scholarship winners:
Bronwyn Adams, Sinidisile Nkuna, Katleho Mokhoabane & Songezo Khumalo)
On October 1, the stage at the University
of Johannesburg’s Con Cowan Theatre played host to a phenomenal showcase of
performing arts talent. And, by the end of the show, four university students
walked away with R170,000 worth of Scholarships to continue their tertiary
studies.
This Johannesburg leg of the Arts &
Culture Trust (ACT) Scholarships Programme saw first year dancer Bronwyn Adams
(Western Cape) and first year musical theatre student Sindisile Nkuna
(Mpumalanga) each take home R50,000 worth of Scholarship funding, while second
year singer Katleho Mokhoabane (Free State) and second year musical theatre
student Songezo Khumalo (KwaZulu-Natal) won R35,000 respectively.
Tasked with selecting the winners were
Moving into Dance’s CEO, Nadia Virasamy; theatre director and designer, Jade
Bowers; and actress, Nicole Murugan – no easy feat, as the calibre of this
year’s finalists was truly top notch.
ACT CEO, Pieter Jacobs says Saturday’s
showcase was further testament to the abundance of creative talent South Africa
possesses. “After seeing the finalists battle it out on stage, there’s no doubt
that not only the recipients but also some of the runners-up will become
household names and delight audiences for many years into the future.”
Funded by the National Lotteries
Commission (NLC), this year R320,000 is allocated to budding performing artists
in their first and second year of tertiary studies from around the country.
Thabang Mampane, Commissioner of the NLC,
says they are honoured to assist these young artists reach their full
potential. “Grants of this nature are in line with Governments commitment to
provide opportunities for the youth of South Africa,” she says.
Since 2009, ACT has been supporting arts
students through their Scholarship Programme. But 2016 is an exciting year for
the Programme as there are more Scholarships on offer than ever before.
The Cape Town showcase, which took place
last month saw four more university students clinch prize money to further
their studies. And, on October 10, six triple threat matric students
will sing, dance and act before an audience and a panel of judges in hopes of
laying claim to a Scholarship that will entitle to them to begin their
performing arts studies at an accredited South African tertiary institution of
their choice.
For more information, visit http://www.act.org.za/programmes/scholarships.html
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