Call for applications: Arts and Culture Trust’s Thuthukisani Programme in SA

The programme is a call to action taken from the Zulu word thuthukisa, meaning ‘to develop’. Thuthukisani addresses the lack of capacity and opportunity for small-to-medium-sized organisations and artists to develop new projects with mentorship, training and investment towards a sustained participation in the creative economy.

The programme is funded by Nedbank and seeks to empower a selected group of artists to complete their chosen projects in a professional way. A total of 63 successful applicants, seven from each province in South Africa, will benefit from this training. After thorough training and mentorship, some participants will then pitch their projects for the opportunity to receive monetary investment.

The structure of Thuthukisani will encompass:

• Masterclasses.
• Professional and peer-to-peer mentoring.
• Potential monetary investment towards selected projects from the programme cohort.

The rollout of the programme will take place in three cycles, inviting applications from three provinces per cycle.

The first circle will accept applications from the following provinces: North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Interested artists from the aforementioned provinces should apply here before 3 September.

Applicants from the remaining provinces will be invited to apply in cycle two and three.

Requirements

• Only South African nationals may apply and projects must take place in South Africa.
• The programme requires a significant commitment in terms of time and effort and is a business development course.
• Selected applicants will need discipline and excellent communication skills, and will be required to work with their mentor to develop a business plan. Acceptance into the programme does not guarantee funding.

The allocation of programme slots is at the discretion of the ACT board of trustees. The decision about all applications for participation is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

View the original call here.