2013 ACT Lifetime Achievement Awards: Winner profiles

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The Arts & Culture Trust named author Elsa Joubert as the 2013 winner of the ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature, sponsored by Media24 Books, in Johannesburg today.

Born Elsabé Antoinette Murray Joubert, the life’s work of the 91 year old writer has been acknowledged with honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Stellenbosch (2001) and Pretoria (2007), the award of the Order of Ikhamanga (2004), and now also the ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature.

Joubert matriculated from La Rochelle Girls' High in Paarl, before obtaining BA degree and Higher Education Diploma, both from the University of Stellenbosch, and a Masters Degree from the University of Cape Town. She was the women's editor of Die Huisgenoot from 1946 to 1948, before embarking on a life of travel. Her first travel book, Water en Woestyn, was published in 1957, chronicling her experiences in Egypt and Uganda.

Elsa Joubert's travels through Africa, South America and the Far East were reflected in her writing in a unique way; and this led to significant recognition of her work. Her first novel, Ons Wag op die Kaptein, was published in 1963, and was awarded, amongst others, the Eugène Marais prize.

She was awarded the WA Hofmeyer, CNA and Louis Luyt prizes for her important novel, Die Swerfjare van Poppie Nongena (1978), which was listed in 2002 as one of the 100 best books in Africa.

In 1981, the British Royal Society of Literature awarded her the Winifred Holtby prize, and she also became a Fellow of the Society.

Her masterly novel, Die Reise van Isobelle (1995), was awarded the coveted Hertzog Prize.

Acknowledging receipt of the award, Joubert said “I am a writer in Afrikaans. The language of my heart liberates and shapes my thoughts and emotions. My book – Poppie Nongena, the life of an African woman – was written in Afrikaans, the home language of both Poppie and myself. Only then could I translate it into English and reach a wider public. Black writers all over South Africa are presenting their books in English. More and more Afrikaans writers are starting to publish, simultaneously, Afrikaans and English editions of their work. Translating seems to be the road to the future. By translation the books become the common property of South African conversation. Through books we can unite South Africa. As a writer in Afrikaans, as a South African writer, I am deeply honoured by your recognition of my contribution of the South African conversation.”

Prof Pitika Ntuli wins ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Visual Art

The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT), with the support of the Vodacom Foundation, has awarded poet, writer, sculptor and academic - Professor Pitika Ntuli - the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award for Visual Art.

Pitika Ntuli was educated in South Africa, Swaziland, the United States and the United Kingdom. He taught in several institutions of higher learning in the UK, is widely published and has lectured worldwide on issues of Art and Culture theories.  Since returning to his native South Africa after 32 years in exile, he has fulfilled a number of key positions at various institutions of higher learning, including those of Deputy Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs; Head of Department of Fine Art and Art History; and Adjunct Professor of Sociology and Conflict Resolution.

A visionary leader, he has also served as Chairperson of the 2012 Ministerial Advisory Panel on African Languages in Higher Education and Training; current Chairperson of Ministerial Advisory Committee to the Department of Science and Technology on Indigenous Knowledge Systems; and as a member of the Commission regarding Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims (2005 – 2010).

His sculptures – often using stone, wood or bone - are exhibited worldwide and he has erected several public monuments in different countries. Most recent constructions include a four metre high metal sculpture for the new Cosatu Building in Braamfontein, and a six-metre Silverton Siege Monument in Diepkloof Zone 3; both in Johannesburg. Ntuli has mounted 13 solo and 12 group exhibitions, also assuming the roles of curator and artist-in-residence a number of times. He has also exhibited and performed his poetry extensively.

On receiving the Award, Prof Ntuli explained “Art is language that allows me to express disagreeable ideas agreeably. My life in art has been a ceaseless struggle to find a language that will capture the nuances of my times, and give concrete expression to the dreams that come by day and night. Sculpture is a bullfight that batters and bruises, and stretches the limits of endurance; but in the end you remain with a renewed aesthetic vision and a body pulsating with a spirit found from the relentless search for an ultimate shape or form, that would speak and answer the yet unasked questions.”

ACT Lifetime Achievement for Music awarded to Madosini

The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT), with the support of the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO), has awarded Latozi Mphahleni – best known as Madosini - the 2013 ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Music, in recognition of her contribution to the country’s cultural landscape.

Latozi Madosini Manqina was born in Umtata, in a village called Mqhekezweni in the Eastern Cape in 1943. The undisputed queen of indigenous music in South Africa, she is a great musician, composer, storyteller and dancer; producing extraordinary music, unique not just in its scope but in its variety and the range of feelings it evokes. Influenced by her mother, who was (also) an expert in the playing and making of indigenous musical instruments, Madosini sings and plays various indigenous instruments such as the umrubhe (mouth bow), uhadi (calabash musical bow) and sitolotolo (Jew's harp).

Madosini’s music was first recorded in the early 70’s, and played on the radio without royalties being paid to her. In 1997, she worked with other musicians to produce an album. Her song Wen'usegoli also featured the South African film Yesterday (2004) starring Leleti Khumalo. In 2008 she featured in the song Lion in a Coma by Animal Collective, an internationally recognized experimental psychedelic band originally from Baltimore, Maryland. In 2008, Madosini performed at the WOMAD festival, and was the first person to be recorded and documented in the festival's Musical Elders Archives project.

She has worked with the likes of Hans and Robert Brokes, Sibongile Khumalo, Thandiswa  Mazwai, Mzwandile Qotoyi, Dizu Plaatjies and Pedro Espi-Sanchis.

A charismatic practitioner, and representative of an age-old but gradually vanishing endemic culture, Madosini is recognized as a national treasure and important indigenous knowledge bearer, yet a huge discrepancy exists between the general admiration for her art and any close interaction or involvement with it. Her role as a traditionalist in a fast-changing society pose challenges for research and exploration in indigenous knowledge systems that are of on-going concern to South African intellectual and musical life.

Speaking in her mother tongue at the announcement ceremony in Johannesburg, Madosini paid homage to her roots, told tales of her travels, and the value of collaboration.

 Sandra Prinsloo awarded ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre

One of South Africa's best-known actresses and personalities, Sandra Prinsloo, was named by the Arts & Culture Trust as the recipient of the 2013 ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre, sponsored by the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO).

Prinsloo has established a reputation as an outstanding actress in many countries including England, France, Germany and the United States.  De Kat magazine named her as one of the 100 most influential people in South Africa.

“It is with great pleasure that we as DALRO are able to honour a true legend of South African theatre, Sandra Prinsloo. The skill with which Sandra practices her art is envy-inducing to any budding, or even established, actor, and she has created truly unforgettable characters during her career. A career that has moved from strength to strength and, thankfully for us, shows no signs of slowing down! It is an honour to be able to show DALRO's (and the theatre community's) immense appreciation for her support of, and commitment to, the arts and the critical role it plays in our society." Advocate Nathi Gaisa, Managing Director of DALRO, about the Lifetime Achievement Award in Theatre.

Prinsloo’s stage and film career spans a period of 45 years. During this time she has performed leading roles in the plays of renowned dramatists – both local and international – totalling over 100 different productions to date. She has also successfully tried her hand at directing, and as a television host; and has won a host of national and international awards in recognition of her skills. 

After matriculating from Afrikaans Meisies Hoërskool, she completed her BA Honours in Drama at the University of Pretoria, joining PACT’s Afrikaans acting company during this same year. She remained there until the Market Theatre opened in Johannesburg seven years later, and, after performing in this theatre’s two opening productions, embarked on a freelance career.

Her leading roles in theatre include: The Merchant of Venice, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, Hamlet, A Winter's Tale, Marat Sade, Hedda Gabler, Siener in die Suburbs, Christine, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard, Absurd Person Singular, Night and Day, Anastasia, The Seagull, Miss Julie, People are Living There and Amy's View, Collected Stories; and she will soon be starring in Breath of Life (a West End production with Dame Judy Dench and Maggie Smith).

In August 2012, Prinsloo performed The Sewing Machine (Die Naaimasjien) at the Edinburgh Festival with huge success. She is currently touring the country with her new one woman play Oskar en die Pienk Tannie - a heart warming tale about a ten year old cancer patient, directed by Lara Bye; and can also be seen as the legendary Anna Neethling-Pohl, in the play Liefde, Anna.

Besides Sandra Prinsloo's popularity as an actress and artist, her career has not been without controversy, and her involvement with and concern for the racial situation in South Africa is well known beyond the borders of this country. Her appearance in the title role of Miss Julie opposite black actor John Kani in 1985 was met with bomb threats and violent assaults. She was the first South African white actress to appear on stage in love scenes with a black actor and as a result, was ostracised by many of her countrymen.
In addition to the reams of accolades received for acting, Prinsloo received an award from the Blue Fountain Club of Soweto for her contribution to the Black film industry in Southern Africa. Twice, the West Rand bestowed a further honour on her for the most popular actress in South Africa; she received the prestigious award from the Academy for Art and Science for her lifelong contribution to theatre in South Africa and the University of Pretoria bestowed the Alumni Award on her.

“It is a great honour to be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from ACT; and I don’t say this lightly! In my profession, one is normally judged for individual parts one has played and it is lovely to receive those awards, but to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award is quite humbling, in that you suddenly feel that your whole body of work through the years has been noticed and taken into account. It makes me feel quite weak in the knees!” said Prinsloo, on accepting the accolade from the Arts and Culture Trust.

About the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT):

The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) is South Africa’s premier independent arts funding and development agency. The primary aim of ACT is to increase the amount of funding available for arts and culture initiatives, and to apply these funds to innovative, sustainable projects that make a meaningful contribution to society. Through structured funding programmes, ACT provides support for all expressions of arts and culture, including literature, music, visual art, theatre and dance, and the support extends to festivals, community arts initiatives, arts management, arts education and arts administration.

Media24 Books

Media24 Books is a division of Media24 and forms part of the Naspers group of companies. It comprises the trade publishers NB Publishers and Jonathan Ball Publishers, the schools publishing group Via Afrika Education, the higher education publisher Van Schaik Publishers and the book club business Leserskring/Leisure Books.

The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO)

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 various music rights of Copyright on behalf of writer and publisher 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 various music users, the distribution of royalties to these members, and the promotion of Copyright law. For more information, please visit www.samro.org.za  

The Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Organisation (DALRO)

DALRO is a multi-purpose copyright society that collects royalties for the use of copyright-protected works on behalf of authors and publishers, which it then distributes back to the correct copyright-owner. As a custodian of copyright and the protection of rightsholders’ works, DALRO’s main areas of administration are reprographic reproduction rights (photocopying from published editions), public performance rights (including stage rights for book musicals and dramas) and reproduction rights (whether for publishing or copying) in works of visual art. For more information please visit www.dalro.co.za

The Vodacom Foundation

In South Africa, Vodacom established the Vodacom Foundation in 1999 as the primary vehicle for implementing the company’s Corporate Social Investment initiatives. With its primary focus on education and health, the Vodacom Foundation identifies and supports sustainable projects that help counter social deprivation. These projects provide a channel through which the company shares its profits with the communities in which it operates. Through the Vodacom Foundation, the company is able to provide a single entry point to respond to the various requests for social development support it receives on a regular basis.

Distell Foundation

Distell, one of South Africa’s premier producers of fine wines, spirits and ready to drink alcoholic beverages, has actively been supporting the arts for more than forty years. Ongoing support is given to a broad range of creative arts development projects that build economic growth, artistic talent, create jobs and enhances excellence in the sector. For more information please visit www.distell.co.za

Business and Arts South Africa NPC

Business and Arts South Africa is an internationally recognised development agency which incorporates the arts into, and contributes to, corporates’ commercial success. With a suite of integrated programmes, Business and Arts South Africa encourages mutually beneficial partnerships between business and the arts in order to grow SHARED VALUE. Business and Arts South Africa was founded in 1997 as a joint initiative of government (Department of Arts and Culture) and the business sector, as a public/private partnership. 

CLASSICfeel Magazine

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.

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