The Arts & Culture Trust Nyoloha Scholarship Programme invites costume and fashion designers for gala performance finals event collaboration.
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) is thrilled to announce an open call strictly for Gauteng-based costume designers to collaborate on an exciting project that is part of the 2024 ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme. The selected designer will have the opportunity to design costumes for participants who will be showcasing their talents at the prestigious ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Finals Gala Showcase on 28 September 2024 at Carnival City.
The open call offers costume designers a chance to be part of a significant event that celebrates the arts and empowers young talent. The chosen costume designer for the ACT Nyoloha Scholarship will play a vital role in bringing the performances to life through their creative vision and expertise. This is a great opportunity for new creative talent to gain awareness and exposure – both on and off the stage.
The chosen costume designer will work closely with the programme’s artistic director, ensuring that the costumes align with the overall artistic vision for the showcase. The purpose of the ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme is to nurture new talent, even in fields outside the traditional performance arts spectrum, such as the fashion designers category, but keeping within the arts and culture sector. According to Jessica Denyschen, CEO of ACT, last year’s introduction of a costume designers into the Nyoloha Scholarship Programme attracted numerous aspiring designers who were enthusiastic about displaying their creativity and skills. She expressed confidence that this year’s open call will draw an even larger pool of creatives eager to showcase their talents.
If you are a Gauteng-based costume designer with a passion for the arts, a flair for creativity and a keen eye for detail, we invite you to submit a budget estimate (including material costs and service fees) to design costume pieces for 10 performers for the project together with a profile of your previous work, a reference letter and a mood board or sketch of the ideas that you have for the project. All submissions must be made via http://act.org.za/nyoloha-costumedesigner and submissions will close at midnight on Friday 9 August 2024.
The theme for the 2024 ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme is ‘#NyolohaAfrica: Our canvas, our voice, our future’. This theme encourages the programme participants to reimagine South Africa by harnessing African modes of storytelling, performance, and visual art, integrating them with immersive technologies and future thinking. The costume designers’ open call invites Afrocentric and/or Afrofuturistic costume ideas for our 2024 performance showcase. Colour palettes may include vibrant and earthy tones that reflect the rich diversity of African cultures and heritage. Design patterns may incorporate traditional or imaginative or futuristic African patterns and motifs, celebrating both heritage and contemporary influences. We encourage costume designs that make use of renewable, recyclable, and reusable materials, as well as those that incorporate upmarket fabrics and elements.
Get those creative juices flowing! This is a fantastic opportunity to unleash your imagination and envision a future South Africa that resonates with your creativity and perspective. Imagine a never-never land akin to Wakanda from Black Panther, where innovation, culture, and heritage converge in a breathtaking tapestry of ideas.
The esteemed judges who will select the costume designer for 2024 are Nthabiseng Malaka and Leon Haasbroek.
Malaka, a Naledi Theatre Award costume design and set design nominee, is a South African theatre maker and costume designer. No stranger to mentorship programmes, she was mentored by internationally renowned costume designer Greta Goiris, and in working through the Centre for the Less Good Idea she had the privilege of working alongside artist William Kentridge. She has been with Disney’s The Magic Box since its premiere in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2023 and is now working on the forthcoming South African seasons at Artscape and Montecasino later this year, before touring internationally with the show.
Leon Haasbroek is a brand consultant and fashion industry expert who collaborates closely with South African Fashion Week, ensuring the placement of influential guests in the front row. Known for his support of local fashion designers, Leon’s mentorship is deeply rooted in a genuine commitment to fostering the next generation of fashion talent and developing the entire CCI sector in Africa.
About the ACT NSP
The ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme is an undergraduate scholarship programme, aimed at providing opportunities for school leavers to pursue a tertiary qualification in the visual and performing arts. In partnership with Nedbank, Sun International, the Market Theatre, the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO), ACT has offered scholarships since 2009.
Following a 2-year interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2022 relaunch of the programme was introduced in partnership with long-term sponsors and partners of ACT, Sun International and Nedbank, as well as MTN South Africa, and Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), under a new organisational strategy. ‘Together with our sponsors and partners, we are dedicated to making a lasting impact on the lives of individuals and the broader cultural landscape. We look forward to continuing this journey of empowerment and innovation, working together to change lives,’ says Jessica Denyschen.
Through the ACT Nyoloha programme, qualifying talented and ambitious young candidates from across the country are introduced to the world of professional arts. Having started on 8 June, biweekly online training with qualifying candidates are running until mid-August 2024. Artists will be rated by their mentors monthly and those performing the best over this 3-month period will qualify for one of the 15 finalist spots.
The finalists will undergo an intensive week of training, talks and performances, culminating in a showcase and exhibition. Working with industry professionals and experts, participants gain valuable experience and the opportunity to work with other future artists from different backgrounds.
Poovi Pillay, Executive Head of Corporate Social Investment at Nedbank, says: ‘We are excited to see what the designers come up with for the finalists to wear on the scholarship gala night. It is a huge event and a superb showcase for the selected designer. Creativity in all its forms should be one of our greatest economic and employment sectors as we have such a lot of talent in our country. ACT and Nedbank are working together to raise awareness about the cultural and creative industries’ worth and value chain. The creative sector is our daily bread – we consume culture and creativity every day and yet we take it for granted instead of recognising it as a core ingredient in our lives.’
Heidi Edson, Group Socioeconomic Development (SED) Specialist at Sun International, says: ‘At Sun International, we are deeply committed to nurturing talent in the arts and culture sector. Our ongoing partnership with ACT has allowed us to witness firsthand the transformative power of investing in young creatives. Over the years this collaboration has not only supported the development of promising talent but has also contributed significantly to the vibrancy and growth of the arts and culture economy. Through initiatives like the Nyoloha Scholarship Programme, we continue to foster an environment where creativity thrives and where future generations can explore their artistic potential.’
Niel Nortjé, Manager of the MTN Art Collection, says: ‘It is a privilege to see interdisciplinary art forms come together as it does for the ACT’s Nyoloha Scholarship Programme. Having witnessed the talent in costume design at last year’s awards ceremony, and how it unquestionably contributed towards those pieces by dancers, singers and performers, we are eagerly looking forward to seeing the creations by our young designers of 2024. At the MTN SA Foundation we believe in valuable strategic partnerships, such as with the ACT, that enables such opportunities, and a chance for young creatives from across the art disciplines to contribute towards socio-economic development within the sector.’
#ACTnyoloha #ImpACTingfutures #ACTSAtalent #Nedbank #NedbankArts #SunInternational #BizArt #actstrat
