The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Thuthukisani Programme is a business development programme designed to empower a select group of artists and creative entrepreneurs to implement and execute their chosen projects in a strategic and sustainable way.
The recently concluded ACT Thuthukisani Programme Cycle 3, supported by Nedbank, was open exclusively to applicants from Gauteng, the Free State and the Western Cape. Twenty applicants from the 70 qualified. They completed entrepreneurial training, development, and one-on-one mentorship sessions with industry specialists, and then pitched their projects for a cash investment and ongoing mentorship throughout the implementation stage of their projects.
‘Only projects with merit that could generate a real income were selected for investment,’ says Jessica Denyschen, CEO of ACT. ‘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. It is a privilege to watch them grow as individuals, to hone their skills as they learn to become proactive business owners. We congratulate every one of the applicants for their drive and determination and wish the final selected applicants all the best for a bright future as they enter the next phase of developing their business.’
The art projects, managed by arts practitioners or registered arts business owners from the three provinces, which were selected based on viability, merit, and suitability for financial investment are: PopArt Studios (performing arts and fashion) by Hayleigh Evans, Nomusa Mdlalose Art (music) by Nomusa Mdlalose and Khachube Décor (visual arts) by Pulane Mpondo from Gauteng; Ble3sid Productions (music) by David Roman and Ray Creek (crafts) by Lerato George Thulo from the Free State; and Amoyo Performing Arts Foundation (performing arts) by Kim Conley, BAZArt (multi-disciplines) by Nani Mntonintshi as well as Naledi Foundation (music) by Siseko Mngxali from the Western Cape.
Cycle 1, covering North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, was concluded in 2021, with cycle 2 covering the Eastern Cape, the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in 2022. With Gauteng, the Free State and the Western Cape wrapping up cycle 3, the current ACT Thuthukisani Programme is nearing completion. Plans are underway to continue the programme into 2024 and beyond. Details will become available in due course.
Tobie Badenhorst, Head of Group Sponsorships and Cause Marketing at Nedbank, says: ‘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. The ACT Thuthukisani Programme was conceived to address this, and we are excited to see how participants from Gauteng, the Free State and the Western Cape advance their businesses.’
Thuthukisani is a call to action taken from the isiZulu word thuthukisa (verb), meaning ‘to develop’. True to its name, the ACT Thuthukisani Programme plays a vital role in empowering and educating chosen candidates to develop their skills and business acumen to become active, contributing members of the arts and culture economy. To keep in touch with the ACT, visit their website, follow them on Twitter and like their Facebook page.
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