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Thursday, November 14, 2019

2019 ACT / DALRO / NEDBANK SCHOLARSHIPS WINNERS


The Arts & Culture Trust has announced the winners of the eleventh ACT / DALRO / Nedbank Scholarships programme which continues to raise the bar and break boundaries.

The level of finalists chosen to compete in each of the five categories is raised with each year that the scholarships auditions are held nationwide. This year has been no different, with nine immensely talented performers and three equally gifted visual artists presenting their best work. Each of the finalists were vying for a R50,000 monetary contribution towards a qualification from an accredited South African institution. Added to this, the ACT / DALRO / Nedbank Scholarships comes with recognition and prestige, being the product of a partnership between the Arts & Culture Trust, the Nedbank Arts Affinity and the Dramatic and Literary Rights Organisation among others.

With this year included, the ACT / DALRO / Nedbank Scholarships programme has disbursed more than R2.5 million to young South Africans for undergraduate studies at a South African tertiary institution.

As in previous years, a week-long programme arranged by ACT formed part of the preparations for the scholarships finals. Twelve performance finalists took part in week-long workshops and three visual arts finalists visited galleries and studios in Johannesburg before the finals were held at the Market Theatre on September 29, 2019.

The five winners of the 2019 ACT | DALRO | Nedbank Scholarships are:

Tshepang Mogane – Singing
Tshepang Mogane, from Sabie, Mpumalanga, started playing the piano at the age of seven and took up singing a few years later. Despite being only in his final year of high school, he has managed to build up an impressive CV by taking every opportunity he could. He is a piano player, vocalist, choir conductor, sound technician, songwriter and composer.
Mogane is driven by his passion for music and learning, and wants to keep discovering who he is and what he has to offer. He intends to study towards a BMus degree in music at the University of Cape Town next year.

Leah Mari – Musical Theatre
Leah Mari from Durban has been playing the piano, singing, acting and composing for as long as she can remember. Both her parents are professional jazz musicians and she was encouraged to participate in school and external arts activities. Taking singing and piano lessons throughout her school career, she has never considered a career outside of the performing arts.
Mari’s dream is to work in musical theatre as a composer to tell new South African stories. She believes that artists have the opportunity to use the arts as a platform to make a meaningful contribution to people’s lives.

Nomsa Mavuka – Acting
Nomsa Thina Mavuka grew up in Soweto and was introduced to the arts at a young age. Her grandfather was a successful screen actor, appearing on Ikati Elimnyama and Deliwe, while her brother is involved in the music industry. She took drama at school and developed a passion for South African theatre and its history. As well as wanting to pursue acting, she aspires to write for the stage and screen and one day to take a leading role in the South African theatre scene as a producer and director.

Chantal De Haan – Dance
De Haan grew up in Cape Town with a single mother. Needing a job after matric to help support her family, she worked for three years as a librarian but knew she had to find a way to pursue her dream of becoming a dancer. She took every opportunity to dance, doing competitions and shows while waiting for her chance to study further. Despite the challenges, she remains driven by her passion for dance and determined to make dance a fulltime career. She aspires to inspire through dance.

Rick Baloyi – Visual Arts
Rick Baloyi was raised by his grandmother in Tshivhuyuni, Limpopo, while his mother worked in Johannesburg. Art was not a subject offered at his school, but when he finished matric in 2018 he decided to pursue his dream to be an artist. By chance, a tourist saw his work in a local art gallery and offered to assist him, providing him with opportunities and materials he had never had an opportunity to use before, such as paint. Baloyi is looking forward to learning more about the contemporary art world, gaining more experience and collaborating with other artists.

For more information on The Arts & Culture Trust visit www.act.org.za or click on the adjacent advert