SA: Arts and Culture Trust announces new board

The announcement follows an open call for nominations of five key individuals to join its board of trustees. After a review process, the ACT, however, appointed six new trustees including Arthur Nkuna, Brenda Doyle, Lakin Morgan-Baatjies, Levinia Jones, Mariapaola McGurk and Peter Baur. They will lead the following portfolios for a three-year term: Capital Growth and Strategic Partnerships, Financial Management, Risk and Audit, Business Strategist, and Marketing Strategist. 

“We are excited to be expanding our board with an exceptional cohort of professionals,” ACT CEO Jessica Denyschen said. “The final selection of candidates will advance our endeavours to drive through our new strategy and expand on our vision for the future.

“The new members of our board bring diversity and specialist knowledge that will feed the development of solutions speaking to our current and evolving context in the arts and culture sector. The trust wishes all our new and remaining trustees a fantastic term ahead. We are honoured to welcome you into the ACT family.”

Nkuna, a Johannesburg-based talent specialist, has been a force in the creative and entrepreneurial worlds, while Doyle has worked for various financial institutions, including Southern Life Association, Futuregrowth Asset Management, Investec Bank and Ernst & Young.

Morgan-Baatjies has expertise in marketing, brand positioning and business strategy while Jones specialises in strategy development, cultural and social programmes, innovation, and research with 15 years of experience in building the creative economy in Africa and the Global North.

McGurk is a consultant, artist, researcher and educator. She holds an executive MBA from the Henley Business School where she focused on the creative economy, youth unemployment, creative entrepreneurship and the value of creative hubs. Baur is an associate professor at the University of Johannesburg’s College of Economics. His research interests include cultural, financial, behavioural and development economics. Prior to joining the research board of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, Bauer served on an advisory board for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

ACT board of trustees chairperson David Dennis said: “On behalf of the trustees, founding partners and Arts & Culture Trust stakeholders, we welcome the appointment of six new members to the board as well as the wide-ranging expertise, knowledge base and board experience they bring in terms of oversight, governance, sound financial management and capital growth – especially at this critical juncture in the organisation’s history and ongoing legacy as we engage with the challenge of change, transition and embracing new perspectives.

“Given the parlous state of the creative and performing arts sector since the impact of lockdown, and a government ministry that is indifferent to the plight of our creatives, this can only bode well for the future of the organisation and its beneficiaries.”