SA: Arts and Culture Trust appoints Jessica Denyschen as interim CEO

The announcement follows the departure of outgoing CEO Marcus Desando who will conclude his tenure at the ACT in December before starting his new role as the director of the Prince Claus Fund in the Netherlands in January 2022.

“It’s an honour for me to be trusted with the custodianship of the new and impactful strategy the team has been crafting over the last 18 months,” Denyschen said. “This appointment feels like a full-circle moment for me as an arts practitioner and entrepreneur having traversed the cultural and creative industries in various roles.”

Denyschen joined ACT as its communications and marketing coordinator in May 2020. She has been working closely with Desando to implement a well-considered succession plan and has been actively involved in all the strategic processes and development at ACT. She became an integral and valuable contributor to the ACT’s new strategy that was launched in April 2021.

“My history with the Trust goes as far back as 2015 when I received an honorary ACT Impact Award for my contribution to the dance sector,” she said. “I believe my deep personal investment in the arts and my experience as both a strategist and seasoned practitioner will bring informed insight and drive to the ACT. I am excited by this opportunity and look forward to working with the board and the ACT team in enabling our programme participants in creating sustainable futures for themselves.”

ACT chairperson David Dennis said: “The ACT Board has welcomed the appointment of Ms Jessica Denyschen as interim CEO and is satisfied that the approved handover process is currently underway. Moreover, that the integrity of the operational functions and institutional memory of the organisation will not be disrupted given that Ms Denyschen has been part of the ACT administrative team since May 2020. Accordingly, the transitional proposal, as presented by the outgoing CEO Marcus Desando, was broadly accepted by the Trust Board precisely to preserve the interest of the trust and that of our strategic funding and& founding partners. I wish to assure the ACT grant recipients and applicants that all current developmental programmes and project funding will proceed as approved by the relevant ACT committees. We wish Jessica everything of the very best for the period ahead with the assurance of our support as a board.”

Denyschen is an experienced arts administrator, practitioner and entrepreneur, who has run her own arts organisation called The Ar(t)chive NPC. She co-founded the organisation with Adrienne Sichel in 2010 and has been pioneering archiving South African dance history in partnership with the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg for the past decade. The Ar(t)chive NPC has produced numerous colloquia and publications about dance and continues to serve researchers locally and globally.