During the months of May and June, the Arts
& Culture Trust (ACT) team worked remotely to ensure a
continuation of services for their stakeholders all over South Africa. The
lockdown has been a challenging time for all but especially for the creative
sector which saw all live events being cancelled and forcing the move to
digital platforms. From their homes, the operations team have stayed in touch
with its ACT family and created new ways of working together digitally.
To stay motivated and inspired the team,
all artists in their own right, participated in a short profile activity to
share what they have been working on during lockdown and how they have stayed
sane during the pandemic.
Here are Q & A’s with the members of
the ACT team:
Marcus
Tebogo Desando
Profile
Photo by: Thando Mpushe
Opera
Singer, ACT CEO
In addition:
Administrator (Arts & NGO) |Director |
Producer | PhD Candidate
Originally from Pretoria, Marcus (a Naledi
awards nominee for best Actor in a Musical) started his Career with PACT in
1989 as a singer and moved to Cape Town Opera (CAPAB) in 1994 where his career
as a director and principal singer started. As a singer, Marcus sang in over 75
operas, musical theatre productions and concerts in South Africa and abroad. He
travelled the world singing and directing with New York Harlem Productions,
Really Useful Company, Pieter Toerien Productions and Cape Town Opera.
Marcus has had the honour of being invited
by University of Stellenbosch, Tshwane University of Technology, and UCT:
college of music and UKZN OCSA (opera school) as a guest lecturer. He has over
40 productions, ranging from opera to concerts, under his belt and his
production of Rigoletto was recorded
and televised by SABC 2. As a proponent for change within the performing arts
Marcus has become a driving force in development and training of young South
African artists and aspiring arts administrators. His passion for the arts has
shown in his leadership of Gauteng Opera and now as CEO of The Arts &
Culture Trust.
What
are you currently working on to stay sane and inspired during lockdown?
It truly has been a very interesting time
to be living. The COVID – 19 certainly made us all rethink how we function and
operate, on a personal and professional level. The Trust started working
remotely a week or so before the lockdown so I should now be a pro J. There
were quite a number of lessons working from home and one that was very eye-opening
was how to run an organisation remotely - especially for me as I have always
believed that I thrive best with human contact. So, besides ACT-related stuff,
I am currently preparing my ethical clearance application as part of my PhD
studies.
For the Trust, this is our audit and
reporting season, so I am preparing all relevant documents for our financial
audit to be initiated with the accountant and auditors. I am also in the
process of compiling all documents for our Annual report that needs to be ready
for final approval in August and we just completed a proposal presentation to
one of our funders for a very exciting project which we hope to roll out in a
few months’ time.
My PhD research is seeking to investigate
the ways through which the creative arts industries could be integrated into
the socio-economic landscape, to reach a more independent and self-sufficient
state as a sector, that can compete meaningfully in the business landscape of
South Africa.
This pandemic and the reaction to it by our
industry will make it even more interesting as we will now be looking at how we
can also use digital spaces for our own ways of revenue generation and business
plans. So, I am curious to see how arts practitioners are to respond and turn
this time to find our place within the global business space.
Oh, I also learnt how to bake and made my
first bread and hopefully will develop this into a serious hobby.
What
do you miss most under lockdown?
I come from a very big extended family so I
am used to being around them. I miss visiting with friends that always reminds
one of the important things in life and letting your hair down. I miss gym,
especially my spinning classes and the people I interact with there.
And I miss travelling, especially just
getting into the car and driving to a picnic spot or just relaxing in a park.
What
do you appreciate most about how your life has changes since lockdown?
I really think that the lockdown and seeing
how the global reaction has been to the COVID – 19 has made me appreciate the
notion of human contact and how to not take it for granted. No number of
gadgets and accumulation of things will matter at the end. People are the most
important accumulation you need.
I also hope that we will all come out of
this pandemic with a better sense of our responsibilities towards the
betterment of our fellow human and that we become a better people for a greater
good.
Jessica
Glendinning
Profile
Photo by: Themba Vilakazi
Writer,
ACT Project Manager
Jessica Glendinning grew up in Gaborone,
Botswana, as part of a large artistic family. She has an honours degrees in
Drama and Creative Writing and has recently submitted her MA in Cultural Policy
and Management. She worked as a freelance stage manager before joining the Arts
& Culture Trust in 2015, where she is currently the Programme Manager for
the Scholarships and Development Programmes.
What
are you currently working on during lockdown?
Having just submitted my Masters in
Cultural Policy and Management, I am looking forward to getting back to my
creative writing. The ideas and doodles have been piling up for the last few
years with no time for any serious application. So, having taken a few months
off, I’m looking forward to getting back to a writing routine. I have a
children’s book on its sixth draft and a number of other projects which I’m
excited to get reacquainted with.
I’m spending most of my free time reading
and in my garden. There is a lot to do at this time of year. Gardening is a
great way to stay sane and feel productive when the world outside feels so
beyond our control. My ballet class, which we’ve had to move online, has also
helped to keep me focused on health and fitness, which is so important.
What
do you miss most under lockdown?
I really miss sharing meals with my
friends, and my family who have had to cancel trips to South Africa.
What
do you appreciate most about how your life has changed since lockdown?
Not having to sit in traffic every day is
fantastic. I’m sure it is having an impact on our beautiful urban forest too.
I’ve really loved seeing how nature has bounced back with the lower levels of
pollution around the world.
Book in progress by Jessica Glendinning: Angelfish
Katlego
Modiri
Profile
Photo by: Ramón Mellett
Fine
Artist, ACT Administrator
Katlego is a figurative conceptual Fine
Artist, who has been practicing for ten years without any plans of stopping.
Katlego graduated in Fine Art in the practice of Printmaking and Glass at the
Tshwane University of Technology. He is currently holding the position of
Administrator for the Arts and Culture Trust which he has been in for two
years. Additionally, Katlego works on the Trust’s Building Blocks Programme as
co-project manager. If not at the
office, he goes back to his practice as a Fine Artist creating works that
introduce thought-provoking and personally moving artworks about
self-introspection.
What
are you currently working on during lockdown?
I am currently one of the selected artists
for the 2020 RMB Talent Unlocked Alumni Programme, for the second time, leading
up to the Turbine Art Fair 2020 (TAF20).
Exhibition Statement: “Katlego studies the
emotional journey of youth through-line. Expressing the pressures felt by our
youngsters today; all their frustrations, fears, hopes, dreams and joy. By
stripping the subjects of any recognisable identity, he also strips us the
viewer of the constraints of preconceived ideas and subjectivity, allowing us
to see and experience only the emotion contained within the line. The immediate
transfer of Katlego’s emotions onto paper.”
What
do you miss most under lockdown?
Like most people, I miss the social
interactions. Being part of the active art spaces, whether it's going to an
exhibition or artist studio spaces or hubs.
What
do you appreciate most about how your life has changed since lockdown?
The lockdown has put me into a different
gear that’s made me look at alternative ways to engage with the public. Whether
it’s my job or my art as a business. It’s made me look at different avenues,
which I’m enthusiastic about exploring.
Jessica
Denyschen
Writer,
ACT Communications and Marketing Co-Ordinator
Jessica Denyschen (33), born in Pongola KZN
and raised in Jozi, is a queer writer and creative and cultural arts
entrepreneur. Since the age of four she has always had an intimate relationship
with the arts and has been performing, creating and writing since she could
stand. She completed her BADA and MADA at WITS University, where she currently
holds the position of Associate Researcher through her dance research company,
The Ar(t)chive NPC, the continent’s only South African Contemporary Dance
Archive. In 2018, she published her debut poetry collection; The magic, the madness and the loss
through Poetree Publications. She lives with her soon-to-be wife and three
huskies in Westdene.
What
are you currently working on to stay sane and inspired during lockdown?
I recently started my new post as
Communications and Marketing Co-ordinator at the Arts & Culture Trust at
the beginning of May (Yes, right in the middle of lockdown level 5) after 12
years of freelancing as an arts entrepreneur, filmmaker and producer. Apart
from my daily duties for the Trust, I manage research and technical activities,
with colleague and friend Tammy Ballantyne, at The Ar(t)chive NPC where I am
the company Director.
Other current projects:
QueerShorts:
I am managing and producing, with fellow
writers and editors, a queer short story writing project I dreamt up in January
titled QueerShorts. The aim was to inspire more writers (emerging and
professional) to generate more local queer literature. The first iteration of
this project is now available on: www.queershorts.org.za
UJ Pandemic Project:
I own a video production company
(www.phoenixandowl.co.za) and I am working on the University of Johannesburg’s
Pandemic Project (https://arts.uj.ac.za/news/#news) as the video editor for the
dance segment (Link). This project was created to support artists during this
crazy time where there is little to no funding relief or work available due to
the lockdown.
FATC ANGEL Project:
Though The Ar(t)chive NPC
(www.theartchive.co.za) and Phoenix and Owl Pty LTD I am collaborating with The
Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative on the FACT ANGEL Project by producing a
video to inspire people around SA to donate to a dedicated fund in support
families in deep distress in rural Mpumalanga during the Covid pandemic. You
can support the campaign through BackaBuddy
(https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/fatcs-angel-project), or by
scanning their BUSQR code in the images attached to this post.
What
do you miss most under lockdown?
I miss my family and friends, I haven’t
been able to visit my mom for two months, she lives in North West and hopping
provinces isn’t allowed yet. I am missing hikes and travelling and sampling the
local beer wherever I go.
What
do you appreciate most about how your life has changed since lockdown?
Lockdown and the rise of Covid19 globally
has really pulled things into perspective, I feel really grateful for the
incredible support system in my life and I am lucky enough to form part of a
group of amazing friends doing incredible things for people in need. I am also
in awe of nature, as I always have been, to take control, to say stop, listen.
We need to take personal and collective responsibility for our future by respecting
nature and each other.
On a serious note:
I also want to say BLACK LIVES MATTER. Now
more than ever we see the inequality and disparity deeply rooted in our
society, here at home and all over the world. We cannot look away from the
injustice. We have to demand better from our government, and we HAVE to hold
them accountable. We also have to demand better of ourselves and each other. My
prayers go out to Sibusiso Amos, Collins Khoza, Petrus Miggels and Adane
Emmanuel and all the people whose lives are destroyed daily by injustice. POC,
I see you.
(To
link direct to the Arts & Culture Trust’s site, click on the ACT logo to
the right of this article or visit http://www.act.org.za)
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