(Thuthukisani is a call to action taken from the Zulu word Thuthukisa (verb) meaning develop)
KZN organisations who have won through to the next level are the KZNSA Gallery (visual arts/craft) by Angela Shaw as well as Trulife Creative Studios (performing arts) by Fuzile Macala from KwaZulu-Natal.
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Thuthukisani Programme Cycle 2, supported by Nedbank, is exclusively for artists from the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal. The 21 qualifying applicants recently completed entrepreneurial training, development, and one-on-one mentorship sessions with industry specialists, and then pitched their projects for the opportunity to be selected to receive a cash investment and ongoing mentorship throughout the implementation stage of their projects.
The selected art projects from the three provinces that are managed by arts practitioners or registered arts business owners that illustrated viability, merit, and suitability for financial investment are: Kanda Kul Concepts (music company) by Ntlantla Sphosenkosi Yaze from the Eastern Cape; GLU Creations (visual arts) by Garnett Ludick and Mind Flow (music) by Lindile Stenge from the Northern Cape; KZNSA Gallery (visual arts/craft) by Angela Shaw as well as Trulife Creative Studios (performing arts) by Fuzile Macala from KwaZulu-Natal.
Applications for the ACT Thuthukisani Programme Cycle 2 opened in April this year. Of the more than 50 applications received from across the three provinces, seven qualifying arts entrepreneurs were chosen from each province. The programme is designed to empower the chosen candidates as they learn business practices, basic economics and how best to implement and execute their chosen projects in a strategic and sustainable way. The goal of the programme is to deliver an income-generating and profitable product within 90 days.
Cycle 1 included North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Arts organisations and/or individuals whose core business focus is arts and culture who are based in the remaining provinces namely the Free State, Western Cape and Gauteng, will be able to apply for Cycle 3 later this year.
ACT Interim CEO Jessica Denyschen says: “The ACT Thuthukisani Programme is an ACT flagship programme and one of the first new programmes presented to the public in the rollout of our new strategic framework. The modular rollout of the programme gives the ACT a unique opportunity to study the training, outcomes and impact in a significant and focused way, with each new cycle being improved based on research and industry needs. We have a unique opportunity to listen to our audience through this programme, to delve into the nuances of each business and the owner’s mindset, and to make adjustments that will improve the way they do business.”
Tobie Badenhorst, Head of Group Sponsorships and Cause Marketing at Nedbank, says: “The Nedbank Arts Affinity through the ACT has supported artists through many different projects over the years. But what we found is that regardless of the artists’ talents, if they don’t have the appropriate business and entrepreneurial skills, they too easily fall by the wayside or really struggle to make ends meet. The Thuthukisani Programme was conceived to address this, and we are excited to witness so many of the artists enrolled in the programme responding so positively to the mentorship and taking charge of their finances, talent and lives in a structured, sustainable way.”
The ACT Thuthukisani Programme open call for the remaining three provinces will be announced towards the end of 2022. To keep in touch with the Arts & Culture Trust, visit the ACT website by clicking on the ACT logo to the right of this article, follow ACT on Twitter or like the ACT Facebook page.
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