Gauteng arts groups awarded 39 arts grants
JOBURG – Gauteng's arts and culture community receives 39 grants to fund each group for three years.
The National Arts Council (Nac) of South Africa is doing more for the arts now than ever before.
According to the council’s communications specialist, Janet Molekwa, the council is a funding body mandated by the Department of Arts and Culture to disseminate grants to deserving members of the arts community.
This year, the council awarded R23 million in grants to 116 organisations, countrywide, which will receive funding for the next three-year cycle in various arts disciplines – an increase from the last funding cycle where 98 organisations received grants.
The provincial allocation followed the usual trend, with Gauteng leading with 39 projects funded in the province for the next cycle. Funding from the council is important to push the community forward by aiding development, providing support, and promoting and advancing the arts in the country.
A call for proposals for this cycle for arts organisation support opened in November last year, with the arts community required to submit business plans outlining their artistic programmes and budgets for a three-year period from this year to 2018; a call responded to with nearly 500 proposals.
The council supports the strategic initiative of promoting equity in the arts. This saw 108 beneficiaries that work with the youth, and 50 of its projects that are steered by women receive funding.
“Central to our mandate is the importance of facilitating strong leadership roles for women of all ages within the creative industries where their voices continue to be under-represented,” said Rosemary Mangope, chief executive officer of the council.
With Women’s Month having come and gone, Mangope emphasises that their equity strategy does not apply for just one month in the year. “We are proud of the progress we have made in this important sector to date and Nac will continue to work towards empowering the current and next generation of women throughout the year, not just in South Africa, but on the African continent and worldwide.”
