Standard Bank Young Artist Award announces winners

The winners were drawn from six categories namely music, jazz, performance art, visual art, theatre and dance. Selected by the National Arts Festival Committee, the winners will receive cash incentive, get support to develop and premiere new works that will be featured at the 2018 edition of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.

Below is a list of winners:

• Guy Buttery (music)
• Thandi Ntuli (jazz)
• Musa Hlatshwayo (dance)
• Chuma Sopotela (performance art)
• Igshaan Adams (visual art)
• Jemma Kahn (theatre)

“It is with great honour and continued disbelief to announce that I have been awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for 2018 in the Music category,” Buttery wrote on Facebook.

Minister of arts and culture Nathi Mthethwa had this to say about the winners: “Congratulations to all the Standard Bank Young Artists on their awards. You are a shining example of the talent and commitment of South African artists and we look forward to seeing more of your work realised in the years to come.”

Head of group sponsorships at Standard Bank Hazel Chimhandamba touched on the significance of the event to the arts scene. “Over the years the Standard Bank Young Artist Awards have grown in stature and continue to provide a wonderful platform and opportunity for the winning artists to bring their work to a national and international arena,” Chimhandamba said. “It has created a rich legacy while providing role models for future generations to value, respect and aspire to whilst enriching and expanding the country’s cultural landscape.”

National Arts Festival executive producer Ashraf Johaardien added: “Every year when we deliberate on the next crop of winners our purpose is to find the next generation of artists whose work holds the promise of that kind of impact. Having had the opportunity to engage with each of the 2018 winners and their current body of work, I am confident that the Artistic Advisory Committee have succeeded in doing just that.”

Founded in 1981, the SBYA awards were designed to secure and invest in the future of the arts. Previous winners include William Kentridge, Mbongeni Ngema, Johnny Clegg, Sibongile Khumalo, Darrell Roodt and others.