(Ismail
Mahomed)
The Council of the Market Theatre
Foundation (MTF) regrettably announces the resignation of its Chief Executive
Officer, Ismail Mahomed.
An iconic figure on the arts front in South
Africa, Ismail Mahomed took the reins at the Market Theatre Foundation in
August 2016 after his 8-year stint as the Artistic Director of the National
Arts Festival.
With more than 35 years-experience in the
arts sector, he is a multi-award-winning cultural administrator. His last
working day at the Market Theatre Foundation will be June 30, 2020.
The Chairman of Council, Gerald Themba
Dumas, notes the Council’s appreciation of Mahomed’s service and dedication to
the Market Theatre Foundation during his tenure.
“The Market Theatre Foundation excelled
both locally and internationally during Ismail Mahomed’s tenure and this is
evident by the many awards and accolades won by the MTF. The partnerships
fostered by him and his team go a long way in maintaining the MTF’s position as
a leading international arts institution”, said Dumas.
Ismail Mahomed has overseen the operations
and provided leadership for the Market Theatre Foundation’s four business units
Market Theatre, Market Theatre Laboratory, Market Photo Workshop and the
Windybrow Arts Centre and developed a unified administrative system across all
the divisions which included a revision of several policies and the development
of standard operating procedures.
He drove the activation of the Windybrow
Arts Centre as a multi-cultural business unit of the Market Theatre Foundation
and in partnership with the Coloured Cube and Sticky Situations established the
two Pan-African Reading Rooms at the Centre. He directed the restructuring and
re-envisioning of the Market Theatre Laboratory and under the leadership of
Clara Vaughan championed the Market Theatre Laboratory into becoming an income
generating business unit which has diversified and grown its programming and
footprint extensively without losing any of its core commitment to provide
quality and accessible education for historically marginalized students.
He re-activated the Kippies venue which had
remained dormant for over ten years and which now serves as an alternative
space directed by Jefferson Tshabalala for independent artists. He supported
the establishment of the Kwasha Theatre Company for new young graduates which
since its establishment in 2018 has been able to secure international funding,
win awards and secure invitations to international tours. He introduced an
internship programme at the Market Theatre Foundation for new graduates.
Mahomed has strengthened partnerships
through various international diplomatic missions which have resulted in
international collaborations with artists from the African continent Europe,
Asia and North and South Americas. This also led to several fully-funded
international exchanges programmes for various personnel; and which included
MTF personnel participating in cultural exchange programmes in South Korea,
Columbia, United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, France, UK and the USA. There are
several other projects which mark his tenure as the head of the Market Theatre
Foundation, and which includes hosting the International Atelier for Festival
Managers for the first time on the African continent.
“With the support of the Council,
colleagues and stakeholders who remained focused to our core objective of
serving our artists and audiences we were able to achieve several more
milestones at the Market Theatre Foundation. I want to thank the many partners
and stakeholders whom I have had the privilege to work with so that we could
collectively build on the legacy of the founding fathers of the Market Theatre
Foundation”, said Ismail Mahomed.
The Market Theatre Foundation is a 43-year
performing arts institution with more than 300 awards for artistic excellence
and four awards for human rights. Founded in June 1976 as a non-racial theatre,
the Market Theatre Foundation continues to celebrate its international
reputation for its socially relevant work. In 2005, the Market Theatre
Foundation became an entity of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture; and
it is governed in terms of the Cultural Institutions Act No 119 of 1998.
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