Arts & Culture Trust | Funding Guidelines

The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Awards are held annually in recognition and celebration of excellence in South African arts, culture and creativity.

The ACT Awards have new sponsorship from the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO); renewed sponsorship from the Vodacom Foundation and renewed support from Distell, CLASSICFEEL Magazine and Fine Music Radio 101.3 FM. A previous ACT Award recipient, Artslink.co.za has also come on board to promote the public nomination process.

Nominations are now open for the ACT Awards 2009 and members of the public are invited to nominate South African, midcareer arts and culture practitioners for seven new ACT Excellence Awards sponsored by Distell, in the disciplines of Craft, Dance, Design, Fashion, Heritage, Literature and Opera.

"We have such a wealth of talent in our country and some of them often go unnoticed and unrecognised - we are therefore proud to give support in recognising excellence in the creative arts industry in South Africa," says Irma Albers of Distell.

Nominations for the seven Excellence Awards should be e-mailed as a Word document to and must include the name, contact details and a biography of the nominee as well as a one-page motivation. Photographs or annexures should not be submitted at this stage. Nominations should describe the positive impact of the nominee's contribution, and provide evidence of the consistent excellence of the nominee's work between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2009. The deadline for submissions is 30 September 2009.

An essential and vital element of the ACT Awards is the presentation of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement awards. This year three awards will be presented: a Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre sponsored by DALRO; a Lifetime Achievement Award for Music sponsored by SAMRO and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Visual Arts sponsored by the Vodacom Foundation. Lifetime Achievement Award recipients are selected at the discretion of the ACT Board of Trustees.

"DALRO is proud to be sponsoring the ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre - it marks our long and productive association with the theatrical arts in South Africa", says executive director Gerard Robinson. "Not only does this 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."

Winners of the ACT Excellence Awards, sponsored by Distell, will be selected by an independent panel of judges and will be announced at a luncheon in Johannesburg during November 2009. Awards will only be presented if a satisfactory number of quality nominations are received in the various categories and the adjudication panel reserves the right to carry over such awards to next year.

Sponsors

SAMRO - The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) was established in 1962 with the key objective to protect the intellectual property of its composer, songwriter, and publisher members. The organisation's primary focus is to administer the public performance, broadcast, diffusion, and mechanical (reproduction), rights in musical works on behalf of its members. The collecting society as it is known is mainly concerned with the collection of license fees for the use of its members musical works by music users, the distribution of royalties to these members, and the promotion of Copyright law.

DALRO -The Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Organisation (DALRO), was established in 1967 as a multi-purpose copyright society, administering various aspects of copyright on behalf of authors and publishers.

The Vodacom Foundation is Vodacom's primary vehicle for implementing its Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives. The Foundation's contributions, primarily within the disciplines of Education and Health are focused on sustainable projects aimed at countering social deprivation.

Distell's involvement in arts and culture over more than 40 years has helped to feed the soul of the nation by providing ongoing support to a broad range of arts development projects that build economic growth, artistic talent, enhance quality of life and create jobs.

Media Partners

CLASSICFEEL Magazine is an award winning monthly arts and culture magazine that brings the best in classical and jazz music, dance, visual arts, film and theatre, as well as food and travel, to its readers. The magazine is dedicated to promoting arts and culture in South Africa. CLASSICFEEL Magazine has garnered many prestigious awards, including the Arts and Culture Trust (ACT) Awards, as well as SAPPI PICA Award for excellence in publishing and the coveted BASA (Business and Arts in South Africa) Award.

Fine Music Radio 101.3 broadcasts classical music and mainstream jazz 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from studios in the Artscape complex to a weekly audience of around 55 000 people in Cape Town and its environs. The station is also accessible to national and international listeners via the web. Listen live by logging on to http://infant.antfarm.co.za/fmr/fmr-player.asp

Artslink.co.za is an award-winning internet-based wire service for SA arts, culture and entertainment news and reviews. Artslink.co.za News specialises in connecting audiences to artists. It also hosts an annual directory of recurring national arts festivals and events.