(Right: Jessica Denyschen_Gemma Garman Portraits)
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) appoints Jessica Denyschen as Chief Executive Officer
Jessica Denyschen served as the Interim CEO of the Trust from November 2021 to March 2023 when she was officially offered the position of CEO of the Trust by the Board of Trustees starting from April 1, 2023.
A young, experienced arts administrator, practitioner, and entrepreneur, Denyschen has been an integral part of the ACT since assuming the position of Communications & Marketing Coordinator when she joined the organisation in 2020. She actively contributed towards ACT’s strategic development of which the launch took place in April 2021.
Denyschen also runs her own non-profit arts organisation, The Ar(t)chive NPC which was co-founded in 2010 with veteran dance writer Adrienne Sichel (retired 2019). The Ar(t)chive NPC is South Africa’s first archive for Contemporary Dance and physically based theatrical performance and has been pioneering the archiving of South African dance history and producing colloquia and publications to serve researchers globally for over a decade.
In 2015, Denyschen received an Honorary ACT ImpACT Award for her contribution to dance in South Africa, which was a first-of-its-kind accolade in the history of the Trust. Fast-track to the year 2021, under the leadership of previous ACT CEO Marcus Desando, as Communications and Marketing Coordinator of the Trust at the time, Denyschen was entrusted with the responsibility of working closely with Desando to oversee a succession plan of her stepping into the role of interim CEO.
Denyschen’s rise through the ranks is not only a testament to her dedication and commitment to the development of the South African arts and culture sector through the work she does with the Trust but is also a testament to ACT’s commitment to maintaining its institutional memory and leadership continuity by mentoring young leaders, some who are a part of their alumni.
Jessica Denyschen says: “It’s been an honour serving the Trust as Interim CEO and I am excited to be continuing the journey as CEO. Nurturing young leaders is critical in our society and the confidence and good faith that the Board has expressed in my leadership is truly humbling. My journey with the Trust started in 2015 and it’s an incredible testament to the important work the Trust does in serving and nurturing the arts & culture sector that I now step into this role.
“I feel proud to be representing queer woman leadership and take up this role with dedication and determination to continue and grow the good and impactful work the Trust does. I am excited to be carving a new vision and path for the Trust, one that is dedicated to finding solutions for sustainability and committed to enabling arts and culture practitioners to achieve sustainable livelihoods.”
Chairperson of the ACT Board, Arthur Nkuna says: “The ACT Board is enormously grateful for Jessica Denyschen’s contribution thus far as the interim CEO. Under her stewardship, ACT has managed to overcome some challenging change reforms in the organisation. Jessica has a well-rounded knowledge of the creative industry, proven strategic capabilities, strong operational performance, and a clear ability to build and lead teams. The organisation has a lot of work ahead, therefore we as the Board have no doubt that ACT is in the right hands with Jessica as its CEO for the next phase of its growth.”
To link to the ACT website, click on the
ACT logo to the right of this article or visit https://act.org.za/
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