SA: ACT announces 2021 bursary recipients

In November, ACT invited students accepted for masters or doctoral programmes in the 2021 academic year to apply for any of its 10 bursaries valued at R30 000 each. The bursaries were made available for study in any arts discipline.

“If there is one thing the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us, it is the value of knowledge creation and preservation within the arts and culture sector,” ACT CEO Marcus Desando said. “This has been exactly the calibre of applications we received, a group of very exciting and encouraging research initiatives that will be highly beneficial to our sector.”

The bursary programme forms part of the ACT Development Programme, which is a long-standing arts development initiative sponsored by Nedbank and administered by ACT. As the flagship programme of the partnership between ACT and Nedbank, the ACT Development Programme has supported more than 850 organisations and projects nationwide over the past 24 years, a contribution valued at more than R25m in total.

Nedbank head of group sponsorships and cause marketing Tobie Badenhorst said: “The cultural and creative industries are essential for the development of our society, our people and our economy. We need to recognise and embrace the people studying and working in the arts and culture sector, as they are the flagbearers of a more humane, more conscious, more self-inquiring nation. To achieve this we need postgraduates to research new ways of seeing and being in this changed world. We are incredibly excited about this year’s choice of candidates and we look forward to witnessing what they produce and who they become.”

ACT said a large number of applications were received from across the country and the adjudication panel considered many viable and valuable research interests.

Below is the full list of beneficiaries:

• Mohau Mogale (Master of Arts in Music).
• Keitumetse Mbatha (Master of Arts in Cultural Policy and Management).
• Ntombifuthi Nkuna (Master of Arts in Cultural Policy and Management).
• Simangaliso Siyathemba Thango (Master of Arts in Cultural Policy and Management).
• Thuto Nnena-Noko (Master of Arts in Cultural Policy and Management).
• Nadia van der Walt (PhD in History of Art).
• Temara Prem (PhD in Film and Television).
• Gcotyelwa Mashiqa (Master of History in Advanced Issues in Museum and Heritage Studies and Visual History).
• Camilla Pontiggia (Master of Arts in Fine Arts).
• Nicole Clare Fraser (Master of Arts in Fine Arts).