SA: ACT announces 2022 Thuthukisani Programme recipients

The ACT Thuthukisani Programme is a partnership between ACT and Nedbank Arts Affinity. It aims to empower small to medium organisations and artists to develop new projects and offer mentorship, training and investment towards sustained participation in the creative economy.

Applications for the programme opened on 8 August 2021, with more than 100 arts entrepreneurs from North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces competing for a place in the programme.

Of the 14 proposals submitted, four participants received R45 000 to start or boost their project. Mentoring continues throughout the implementation stage, which began last month and runs through March 2022.

“The high levels of enthusiasm shown by the applicants, coupled with their willingness to learn and determination to succeed in the ACT Thuthukisani Programme is enormously rewarding,” ACT interim chief executive officer Jessica Denyschen said. “The entrepreneurial mindset starts with one project at a time, scaling and learning become crucial to creating more income-generating opportunities. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsorship from Nedbank, the added cash investment creates further business opportunities for these recipients.”

Nedbank head of group sponsorships and cause marketing Tobie Badenhorst said: “Congratulations to the four artists on the selection of their projects. We are very excited to be part of your journey and to see how your projects progress. The roadshow revealed that ACT has enabled thousands of arts and culture projects to make a meaningful contribution to society, but that the majority of artists and arts organisations need skills development in order to hone and manage their projects and people.”

The following four projects from North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo were selected:

• Tourism, Arts and Culture Music Festivals Project – Mahubo Phungulwa (North West).
• Toro Ya Bokamoso Project – Mogomotsi Simon Maphutha (North West).
• Witbank Arts Campus Project – Marie Lombard (Mpumalanga).
• South African Arts Culture Thursday Knights 2022 Project – Lethabo Ramokgopa (Limpopo).