SA: Arts and Culture Trust announces Thuthukisani Programme recipients

The programme is a business development initiative that is designed to empower a select group of artists and creative entrepreneurs to implement and execute their chosen projects in a strategic and sustainable way.

Cycle 1, covering North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, was concluded in 2021, while cycle 2 covering the Eastern Cape, the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces closed in 2022. With Gauteng, the Free State and the Western Cape provinces wrapping up cycle 3, the current ACT Thuthukisani Programme is nearing completion. However, plans are underway to continue the programme into 2024 and beyond.  

As part of the programme, the recipients completed entrepreneurial training and one-on-one mentorship sessions. They also pitched their projects for a cash investment and continued mentorship throughout the implementation stage.

“Only projects with merit that could generate a real income were selected for investment,” ACT CEO Jessica Denyschen said. “We have the unique opportunity to work with dedicated arts professionals who achieved the objective of the first phase of the programme, which included applying what they had learnt from the training curriculum to reinvigorate their business models into income-generating and profitable businesses.”

Nedbank head of group sponsorships and cause marketing Tobie Badenhorst said: “Over many years of supporting arts projects countrywide, what we found is that, regardless of talent, if the artists and arts business owners don’t have the appropriate business and entrepreneurial skills, they fall too easily by the wayside or really struggle to make ends meet.”

From the three provinces, the following art projects were selected based on their viability, merit and suitability for investment:

Music

• Nomusa Mdlalose Art – Nomusa Mdlalose (Gauteng).
• Ble3sid Productions – David Roman (Free State).
• Naledi Foundation – Siseko Mngxali (Western Cape).   

Performing Arts

• PopArt Studios – Hayleigh Evans (Gauteng).
• Amoyo Performing Arts Foundation – Kim Conley (Western Cape).

Visual Arts

• Khachube Décor – Pulane Mpondo (Gauteng).

Crafts

• Ray Creek – Lerato George Thulo (Free State).

Multi-disciplines

• BAZ-Art  – Nani Mntonintshi (Western Cape).