Submissions deadline:
midnight on Friday August 9, 2024.
The Arts & Culture Trust Nyoloha Scholarship Programme
invites costume and fashion designers for gala performance finals event
collaboration.
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) is thrilled to announce an open call strictly for Gauteng-based costume designers to collaborate on an exciting project that is part of the 2024 ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme. The selected designer will have the opportunity to design costumes for participants who will be showcasing their talents at the prestigious ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Finals Gala Showcase on September 28, 2024, at Carnival City.
The open call offers costume designers a chance to be part of a significant event that celebrates the arts and empowers young talent. The chosen costume designer for the ACT Nyoloha Scholarship will play a vital role in bringing the performances to life through their creative vision and expertise. This is a great opportunity for new creative talent to gain awareness and exposure – both on and off the stage.
The chosen costume designer will work closely with the programme's artistic director, ensuring that the costumes align with the overall artistic vision for the showcase. The purpose of the ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme is to nurture new talent, even in fields outside the traditional performance arts spectrum, such as the fashion designers’ category, but keeping within the arts and culture sector.
According to Jessica Denyschen, CEO of ACT, last year’s introduction of a costume designers into the Nyoloha Scholarship Programme attracted numerous aspiring designers who were enthusiastic about displaying their creativity and skills. She expressed confidence that this year's open call will draw an even larger pool of creatives eager to showcase their talents.
If you are a Gauteng-based costume designer with a passion for the arts, a flair for creativity, and a keen eye for detail, you are invited to submit a budget estimate (including material costs and service fees) to design costume pieces for 10 performers for the project together with a profile of your previous work, a reference letter and a mood board or sketch of the ideas that you have for the project. All submissions must be made via the ACT website and submissions will close at midnight on Friday August 9, 2024.
The theme for the 2024 ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme is #NyolohaAfrica: Our canvas, our voice, our future. This theme encourages the programme participants to reimagine South Africa by harnessing African modes of storytelling, performance, and visual art, integrating them with immersive technologies and future thinking.
The costume designers’ open call invites Afrocentric and/or Afrofuturistic costume ideas for the 2024 performance showcase. Colour palettes may include vibrant and earthy tones that reflect the rich diversity of African cultures and heritage. Design patterns may incorporate traditional or imaginative or futuristic African patterns and motifs, celebrating both heritage and contemporary influences. ACT encourages costume designs that make use of renewable, recyclable, and reusable materials, as well as those that incorporate upmarket fabrics and elements.
Get those creative juices flowing! This is a fantastic opportunity to unleash your imagination and envision a future South Africa that resonates with your creativity and perspective. Imagine a never-never land akin to Wakanda from Black Panther, where innovation, culture, and heritage converge in a breath-taking tapestry of ideas.
The esteemed judges who will select the costume designer for 2024 are Nthabiseng Malaka and Leon Haasbroek.
Malaka, a Naledi Theatre Award costume design and set design nominee, is a South African theatre maker and costume designer. No stranger to mentorship programmes, she was mentored by internationally-renowned costume designer Greta Goiris, and in working through the Centre for the Less Good Idea she had the privilege of working alongside artist William Kentridge. She has been with Disney’s The Magic Box since its premiere in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2023 and is now working on the forthcoming South African seasons at Artscape and Montecasino later this year, before touring internationally with the show.
Leon Haasbroek is a brand consultant and fashion industry expert who collaborates closely with South African Fashion Week, ensuring the placement of influential guests in the front row. Known for his support of local fashion designers, his mentorship is deeply rooted in a genuine commitment to fostering the next generation of fashion talent and developing the entire CCI sector in Africa.
About the ACT NSP
The ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme is an undergraduate
scholarship programme, aimed at providing opportunities for school leavers to
pursue a tertiary qualification in the visual and performing arts. In
partnership with Nedbank, Sun International, the Market Theatre, the Southern
African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and the Dramatic, Artistic and
Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO), ACT has offered scholarships since2009.
Following a two-year interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2022 relaunch of the programme was introduced in partnership with long-term sponsors and partners of ACT, Sun International and Nedbank, as well as MTN South Africa, and Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), under a new organisational strategy. Jessica Denyschen says: “Together with our sponsors and partners, we are dedicated to making a lasting impact on the lives of individuals and the broader cultural landscape. We look forward to continuing this journey of empowerment and innovation, working together to change lives.”
Through the ACT Nyoloha programme, qualifying talented and ambitious young candidates from across the country are introduced to the world of professional arts. Having started on June 8, biweekly online training with qualifying candidates are running until mid-August 2024. Artists will be rated by their mentors monthly and those performing the best over this three-month period will qualify for one of the 15 finalist spots.
The finalists will undergo an intensive week of training, talks and performances, culminating in a showcase and exhibition. Working with industry professionals and experts, participants gain valuable experience and the opportunity to work with other future artists from different backgrounds.
Poovi Pillay, Executive Head of Corporate Social Investment at Nedbank, says: “We are excited to see what the designers come up with for the finalists to wear on the scholarship gala night. It is a huge event and a superb showcase for the selected designer. Creativity in all its forms should be one of our greatest economic and employment sectors as we have such a lot of talent in our country. ACT and Nedbank are working together to raise awareness about the cultural and creative industries’ worth and value chain. The creative sector is our daily bread – we consume culture and creativity every day and yet we take it for granted instead of recognising it as a core ingredient in our lives.’
Heidi Edson, Group Socioeconomic Development (SED) Specialist at Sun International, says: “At Sun International, we are deeply committed to nurturing talent in the arts and culture sector. Our ongoing partnership with ACT has allowed us to witness first-hand the transformative power of investing in young creatives. Over the years this collaboration has not only supported the development of promising talent but has also contributed significantly to the vibrancy and growth of the arts and culture economy. Through initiatives like the Nyoloha Scholarship Programme, we continue to foster an environment where creativity thrives and where future generations can explore their artistic potential.”
Niel Nortjé, Manager of the MTN Art Collection, says: “It is a privilege to see interdisciplinary art forms come together as it does for the ACT’s Nyoloha Scholarship Programme. Having witnessed the talent in costume design at last year’s awards ceremony, and how it unquestionably contributed towards those pieces by dancers, singers and performers, we are eagerly looking forward to seeing the creations by our young designers of 2024. At the MTN SA Foundation we believe in valuable strategic partnerships, such as with the ACT, that enables such opportunities, and a chance for young creatives from across the art disciplines to contribute towards socio-economic development within the sector.”
#ACTnyoloha#ImpACTingfutures #ACTSAtalent #Nedbank #NedbankArts #SunInternational#BizArt #actstrat
BIOGRAPHIES:
Nthabiseng Malaka
Nthabiseng Malaka is a South African theatre-maker who works
across stage, film and television as a costume designer, scenographer,
production designer, art director, set dresser as well as props master.
Malaka graduated from Wits with a BA in dramatic arts. She is currently working at The Centre for The Less Good Idea as the scenographer and costume designer and has worked in numerous theatre productions across the different theatre spaces in Gauteng including the Market Theatre, Joburg Theatre, and Soweto Theatre.
In 2023, she was chosen as one of the three set designers of an international programme ran in collaboration with Scenography Today, Opera for Peace and UNITA for the future, where Christian Schmidt mentored her.
Since 2020, she has collaborated with the artist William Kentridge through The Centre for the Less Good Idea and, more recently, with The Head & The Load in Johannesburg. In early 2020, she was mentored by the internationally-renowned costume designer Greta Goiris. She went on to design sets and costumes for seasons 8, 9 and 10 of The Centre as well as create Goraa Goreng? – a project that incorporated scenography as installation.
Through her work with theatre, she has received Naledi Theatre Award nominations for her costume design and set design work. She has been with The Magic Box since its first premiere in Bueno Aires, Argentina, in 2023.Leon Haasbroek, Executive Director of LJHPR
Leon Haasbroek was responsible for Naomi Campbell's
appearance at the 2019 Forbes Leading Women Summit and has an extensive global
footprint in the modelling industry. He collaborates closely with South African
Fashion Week, ensuring the placement of influential guests in the front row to
enhance brand equity and capture the perfect media moments. Additionally, he
has pioneered the inclusion of TikTok influencers as front-row guests at South
African Fashion Week, leveraging digital content creators to drive aspirational
messages to a broader audience, especially in the post-Covid-19 landscape.
Notable clients include renowned designers JJ Schoeman and Palesa Mokubung of
Mantsho, as well as celebrities like Margo Fargo, Sandile Mahlangu, and
Jonathan Boynton-Lee.
Over 30 years of arts support – Arts & Culture Trust
ACT is South Africa’s premier independent arts development
and investment organisation. Its focus is to increase the capacity for arts and
culture initiatives to create sustainable futures through development and
investment in innovative, sustainable projects that make a meaningful
contribution to society. Through structured development programmes, ACT
provides support to all expressions of arts and culture, including literature,
music, visual art, theatre and dance, and the support extends to festivals,
community arts initiatives, management, education as well as administration.
For more information, visit the ACT website, follow them on X or like their Facebookpage.
Alternately, click on the ACT logo advert to the right of
this article.
About Nedbank
In partnership with ACT, the Nedbank Arts Affinity has
donated more than R28 million to support over 830 arts, culture and heritage
development projects countrywide. If you want to make a difference to the lives
of talented young artists in South Africa, simply link your Nedbank Greenbacks
to the Arts Affinity and Nedbank will donate money to ACT – at no cost to you.
The Arts Affinity currently supports the ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme, the
ACT Thuthukisani Programme and the ACT Tlholo Project. For more information,
download the Nedbank Moneyapp, visit any Nedbank branch, call on 0860 555 111
or visit nedbankarts.co.za.
About Business and
Arts and South Africa
BASA was founded in 1997 as a joint initiative between
government and the private sector as part of a strategy to secure greater
involvement in the arts and from businesses operating in South Africa.
Constituted in terms of the Companies Act, 71 of 2008, BASA is registered as a
public benefit organisation. BASA champions business investment within the arts
and cultural and heritage sector, driving focused and sustained partnerships by
unlocking shared value and fostering social cohesion. For more information, go
to basa.co.za
About Sun
International
The Sun International brand has a proud legacy in the
gaming, hospitality, conferencing, leisure and entertainment sectors. Sun
International’s iconic properties, such as the world-famous Palace of The Lost
City Hotel at Sun City and the magnificent TableBay Hotel in Cape Town –
situated on the water’s edge of the V&A Waterfront, have become synonymous
with luxury, comfort and outstanding service, firmly establishing the group’s
position as an internationally recognised premium brand.
Sun International's diverse South African property portfolio includes 15 hotels, 2 premier resorts and 11 well-located casinos – all of which offer modern, fully equipped conferencing and banqueting facilities, while the Sun Vacation Club at Sun City is now a leading timeshare model in the country.
The group is also a local industry leader in online gaming, offering the latest global technology in betting. Through its SunBet platform, Sun International also offers the most innovative and exciting online betting experience available.
The group has also set the standard for hosting events, and their world-class arenas remain the preferred venues for international events and shows. The three championship golf courses at the Sun City and Wild Coast Sun resorts regularly host large-scale golfing tournaments, including the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City, which is now part of the European Tour.
Whatever the activity, all Sun International's properties and facilities offer a quality experience supported by authentic personal service. Most Valued Guest (MVG) are rewarded with exclusive offers and preferential rates through the MVG loyalty programme, designed exclusively for Sun International gaming patrons.
Sun International’s MVG programme celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024, making it the oldest loyalty programme in the country. In February 2021, Sun International joined the GlobalHotel Alliance (GHA), the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands and operator of an award-winning, multi-brand loyalty programme called 'Discovery'. Through GHA, Sun International can now participate in a network with 17 million members that operate in 85 countries.
Sustainability and community involvement form an integral part of the group’s corporate culture. Through collaborative partnerships with government and local business, Sun International’s SED and environmental initiatives ensure scarce environmental resources are never wasted, and the group is committed to providing ongoing and meaningful support to vulnerable communities throughout South Africa.
About MTN South Africa
Launched in 1994, MTN South Africa is a subsidiary of MTN
Group, a leading emerging market operator with a clear vision to lead the
delivery of a bold new digital world to our customers. We are inspired by our
belief that everyone deserves the benefits of modern connected life. The MTN
Group is listed on the JSE in South Africa under the share code ‘MTN’. ”Our
strategy is ‘Ambition 2025: Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress”.