ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme Mentors Announced

For the 2024 edition of the annual ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme (NSP), the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) received 150 applications for the following 4 short-term positions: artistic director, stage manager, visual and digital arts mentor, and performing arts assistant mentor.

After weeks of interviews, ACT is pleased to announce the following 2 programme mentors: Zanele Mashumi – Visual and Digital Arts Mentor, and Grant Towers – Performing Arts Assistant Mentor.

The ACT NSP artistic director and stage manager will be announced in due course.

Zanele Mashumi is a fine arts graduate, experienced curator, and art dealer with an extensive background in project management and exhibition curation. In 2013 she founded her own art organisation, which has since hosted numerous pop-up exhibitions in Gauteng. Through this organisation Mashumi has been involved in several remarkable projects to support artists.

Grant Towers has been active in the live performance industry for over a decade, frequently treading Gauteng’s stages in pantomimes, musical theatre productions and operas. Grant won a SATMAG award for best supporting actor in a musical in 2016 for his performance in Altyd in my Drome. With his performances in Chicago: The International Tour (Amos Hart, 2018–2020) and Pinocchio (Arletti Spaghetti, 2017) he landed 2 Naledi nominations, in 2018 and 2020 respectively. His talents also extend to dubbing and directing advertisements, television, education, and film.

Grant Towers will be joined by seasoned musical theatre actress, singer, and dancer Samantha Peo who returns to the programme as Head Performing Arts Mentor, working closely with Towers to support the roll-out of the new performing arts training component targeted at artistically gifted youth not pursuing tertiary education. Furthermore, as part of this year’s scholarship programme, ACT will roll out a digital immersive technologies training curriculum in partnership with South African tech company Soda Studios, aiming to equip visual and performing arts participants with job-ready skills in the digital and mixed reality art space. The Mixed Reality and artificial intelligence (AI) course will be conducted by company founder Michael Balkind, who brings extensive experience in the arts, culture, marketing and immersive technologies space.

‘We are thrilled to welcome Grant, Zanele and Michael to the ACT NSP,’ says ACT CEO Jessica Denyschen. ‘The expansion of the ACT NSP Programme to include the training group and mixed reality as well as artificial intelligence is not only a definitive step towards equitable access to quality training for our youth, but also a provocative step in preparing our artistic youth for opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The trust is committed to shaping a narrative for artists that enable them to take advantage of emerging industries alongside more traditional formats.’

The ACT NSP is an undergraduate scholarship programme aimed at providing opportunities for qualifying school-leavers, aged 17–25 years, to pursue a tertiary qualification in the visual and performing arts. Run in partnership with Nedbank, Sun International, and MTN South Africa, as well as Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), the ACT NSP 2024 joint initiative creates an opportunity to fund higher education for young South African performing artists as well as visual and digital artists. One successful applicant in each category will receive an undergraduate scholarship valued at up to R300 000 to study at an accredited tertiary South African arts institution of their choice.

The theme for the 2024 ACT NSP is #NyolohaAfrica: Our canvas, our voice, our future. It’s time to reimagine South Africa through the voices and creativity of the ACT NSP candidates. Think African modes of storytelling, performance, and visual art connected with immersive technologies. This theme aims to propel the significant responsibility and collaborative role that the ACT and its partners, including Nedbank, Sun International, MTN and BASA, play in shaping the futures of South African youth positively by encouraging them to be proactive agents of a digital, innovative and sustainable future through art.

From 8 June to 17 August 2024, during the bi-weekly Saturday workshops that will be facilitated by the mentors and artistic director, participants are encouraged to explore activities centred around the 2024 theme. Every month the mentors will evaluate workshop outputs. Then the 15 finalists will be selected to participate in a final week of intensive workshops, tours and rehearsals that will culminate in a performance showcase at the Mardi Gras Theatre at Carnival City and exhibition at the MTN Innovation Centre, Roodepoort between 26 and 28 September.

Poovi Pillay, Executive Head of Corporate Social Investment at Nedbank, says: ‘One of South Africa’s greatest riches is our young singers, dancers, actors and visual and digital artists. The accomplished ACT Nyoloa Scholarship mentors work with up to 85 of the selected applicants to grow their incredible potential, including their artistry, self-development, entrepreneurship, people management, and marketing and communication skills. There are 2 scholarships to be won in the finals, but the goal of this programme is to engage with all of these young artists to empower them in their journey to achieve successful and sustainable careers.’

Heidi Edson, Group Socio-Economic Development Specialist at Sun International, says: ‘Through the ACT NSP talented and ambitious young people from across the country are introduced to the world of professional arts as they are guided and educated through a professional mentorship. It is partnerships with ACT, Nedbank, and industry experts at the grassroot level that sow seeds to help create better, brighter futures.’

‘We congratulate and thank ACT on their selection of this year’s NSP mentors and look forward to working with such valued veterans from the creative industry sector. The privilege of being led and mentored should never be underestimated for the opportunity it provides a young developing professional to eventually also lead and mentor. At the MTN SA Foundation we believe in valuable strategic partnerships, such as with ACT, that enable such mentorships, and a chance for industry leaders and specialists to contribute towards the socioeconomic development of our youth,’ says Niel Nortjé, Manager of the MTN Art Collection.