BOOK SA – News

Congratulations to Robin Malan for taking the ACT’s award for literary endeavours this year – one of 10 ACT awards given out earlier this month – for his Junkets/Playscript Series publishing projects. Here’s the press release from ACT detailing all the awardees:

Press Release

The winners of the prestigious The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Awards were announced at a luncheon in Sandton, Johannesburg on Friday 6 November 2009.

It was held in the L’Incontro Ballroom of the five-star Michelangelo Hotel.

Since 1998 the ACT Awards have recognised almost 300 individuals, organisations and agencies. With new sponsorships from the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO); as well as renewed sponsorship from the Vodacom Foundation and renewed support from Distell, CLASSICFEEL Magazine and Fine Music Radio 101.3FM, a total of ten awards were presented in the disciplines of Music, Theatre, Visual Arts, Craft, Dance, Design, Fashion, Heritage, Literature and Opera. Artslink.co.za, a previous ACT Award recipient was another new media partner and helped to drive the public nomination process.

“The ACT Top 10 for 2010 is a spectacular way to celebrate our best,” said ACT Chairperson, Brenda Devar addressing a select audience of invited guests. “This is an afternoon that I think you will always remember,” she said. “Our purpose here today is wonderfully simple: to honour the accomplishments of our peers. The idea behind shifting from an evening event to a low-key luncheon is because the Awards themselves have come to carry such weight that we let them do most of the talking. The recipients for 2009 awards are individuals who have made creative contributions of outstanding significance in their chosen disciplines and whose work has shaped the arts and culture landscape of South Africa.

“To manage the risk of subjectivity inherent in all awards, the nomination process for the ACT awards is open to the public and every year a new panel of judges is convened. However the relatively small pool of administrators and managers working in the arts had resulted in some individuals being recognised two or three times over the last ten years which signalled that the time had come for change,” said Ashraf Johaardien, general manager of the Trust. “So, while the aim of the annual ACT Awards remains the same as in previous years, this year the three ACT Lifetime Excellence Awards selected by the ACT Board are augmented by seven new ACT Excellence Awards across a range of disciplines and selected by an external panel of judges,” he added.

According to the adjudication panel convened by Devar which included Moira de Swardt, Gladys Agulhas and Zingi Mkefa, “It was challenging but at the same time it was an honour to play a role in shaping the way we salute our artists. We debated, we motivated, and we voted, and trust that the cream came to the top,”

The winners of the 2009 ACT Awards are:

ACT MUSIC LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (sponsored by The Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Organisation (DALRO) – Joseph Shabalala, the founder and musical director of the South African choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Shabalala set up the Ladysmith Black Mambazo Foundation, a music academy to promote and teach Isicathamiya music to young South African children. In 2008 he announced his retirement but continues to be the driving force behind the group at home in South Africa.

ACT THEATRE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (sponsored by The Southern African Music rights Organisation (SAMRO) – John Kani, South African actor, director and playwright. Kani’s work has been widely performed around the world including New York where he and Winston Ntshona won a Tony Award in 1975 for “Sizwe Banzi is Dead” and “The Island.” “Nothing but the Truth” (2002) was his debut as a sole playwright.

ACT VISUAL ART LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS (sponsored by The Vodacom Foundation) – David Goldblatt, renowned South African photographer. For more than five decades Goldblatt’s photographs have documented the details of South African life. He began photographing in 1948 and has documented developments in South Africa through the period of Apartheid to the present. In 1989 he founded the Market Photography Workshop in Johannesburg. His work is held in major museum collections worldwide.

The aim of the ACT Awards has always been to celebrate and acknowledge excellence in these areas because the pursuit of excellence is in itself an admirable human activity and encouraging it is noble on that basis. The drive and training needed to work towards that goal translates into many other skills and the pursuit of excellence also benefits the industry as a whole. The winners of THE ACT EXCELLENCE AWARDS (sponsored by Distell) were announced by multi-award winning performer, David Dennis and Arts & Culture Controller for Distell, Irma Albers.

They were:
Craft: Marchand van Tonder studied jewellery at Stellenbosch University and has been involved in jewellery making and teaching since 1984.
Dance: Angela Malan is a senior Principal Dancer and founder member of The South African Ballet Theatre (SABT). Her roles with SABT have included the title roles in “Giselle” and Veronica Paeper’s “Carmen” amongst others.
Design: Magpie Design Studio, “a socially conscious art collective…” founded by Scott B Hart and Shane A Petzer. Sean Daniel and Richard Panaino later joined the collective which has been commissioned to dress large venues for events including two Christmas celebrations for the City of Cape Town. Two of their chandeliers hang in the White House.
Fashion: Black Coffee – Jacques van der Walt’s fresh conceptual and historically referenced style is showcased in his quirky and thoughtful take on creating a new SA identity.
Heritage: The Fietas Festival is a unique cultural festival held over three days in the exact location of the historically famous Vrededorp/Pageview community that was destroyed by the Group Areas Act under apartheid.
Literature: Founded in 2005 by Robin Malan, Junkets is an independent publisher which publishes “The Playscript Series”, scripts of new South African plays.
Opera: Isango Portobello has specialised in re-imagining classics from the Western theatre canon, finding a new context for the stories within an African setting, and creating new work that is relevant to the heritage of South Africa. Recent productions include “The Mysteries”, “A Christmas Carol -Ikrismas Kherol” and “The Magic Flute – Impempe Yomlingo”.

Messages from the Sponsors:

The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO): “SAMRO is very proud to be associated with the Arts & Culture Trust Awards, and as the largest music collection society in South Africa, representing thousands of composer, author and publisher members for the past 50 years, we are honoured to be the sponsor of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Music.

The ACT Awards provide our culturally rich country with a platform to recognise those special achievements and contributions to the development of the Music, Arts & Culture industry. We look forward to seeing the winners continue making their valuable contribution to further development.” – Yavi Madurai (General Manager: Strategy & Business Development)

The Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Organisation (DALRO): “DALRO has been involved in theatrical rights licensing since 1968 and over the years has acquired a formidable repertoire of theatrical product for the local market. In granting access to the rights of many of the world’s most performed plays and musicals to professionals and amateurs, DALRO has made, and continues to make, a significant contribution to the cultural life of the country. To mark its long and productive association with the theatrical arts in South Africa, DALRO is proud to be sponsoring the Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre through ACT. Not only does this new award reinforce DALRO’s commitment to the arts, but it also serves as a resolute endorsement of ACT’s various initiatives to fund, nurture and celebrate the arts.” – Gérard Robinson (Executive Director)

The Vodacom Foundation: “Congratulations to all the 2009 award winners who have added colourful brushstrokes to our lives and sculpted an identity for South Africa. As the proud sponsor of the Lifetime Achievement Awards, and a founding member of the Arts and Culture Trust, Vodacom Foundation salutes all the winners for their achievements in their fields of artistic expression and for their contributions to the cultural vitality of our nation.” – Mthobi Tyamzashe (Chairman)

Distell: “Distell recognises the importance of culture and the creative arts in helping not only to shape the soul of a nation but grow the economy of that nation. We thus provide ongoing support to a broad range of development and educational projects that build artistic talent, enhance quality of life and create jobs. We are proud to be associated with the ACT Awards, where recognition is given for excellence in a variety of genres in the arts. By investing in the arts we hope to play an important role in raising standards and spreading interest and appreciation for the South African Arts Industry locally and abroad.” Irma Albers (Arts & Culture Controller)

CLASSICfeel Magazine: “CLASSICfeel Magazine would like to congratulate all the nominees and winners of the 2009 ACT Awards. Particular congratulations go to the Lifetime Achievement Award winners. All of you are at the forefront of our country’s cultural development and your bold creativity and spirit of innovation constantly push our artistic standards ever higher. Apart from recognising individual achievement, these Awards constitute a broader recognition of South Africa’s rich cultural resources, of which we all have every right to be proud.” – Lore Watterson (Editor-In-Chief)

Fine Music Radio 101.3 FM: “FINE MUSIC RADIO 101.3 has actively supported the Arts & Culture Trust for a number of years and is proud to be a media partner of the ACT Awards of 2009. FMR is a Cape-based community radio station broadcasting an eclectic mix of classical music and mainstream jazz. We are enthusiastic in our support of local arts and artists, and our South African cultural heritage. It is this common ethos that makes our partnership with the Arts & Culture Trust appropriate and rewarding.” – Victoria Cawood (Manager)

Artslink.co.za: “Artslink.co.za congratulates all the winners of the ACT Awards and wishes them every success in their future ventures.” – Jennifer de Klerk (Editor)

The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) is South Africa’s premier independent arts funding and development agency.

Ends