News Story

On Thursday, 31 March the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) released its much- awaited CCI Mapping Study to the media and industry at an event in Newtown, Johannesburg.

Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo, popularly known as Black Coffee made South Africa proud once more with winning a Grammy Award at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards Ceremony organised by the United States National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

The Apartheid Museum has reopened its doors to the public and is encouraging as many people to visit and tour the facility. The museum closed its doors in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) is undertaking a 2nd round of research (an initial study was conducted in 2020) to examine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure better preparedness in the future and to use the information to assess how sports-related businesses are responding to the current crisis. In this context, all formal and informal businesses, organisations, trainers, coaches, etc. involved in and/ or earning an income in the sports sector and related activities are invited to complete this survey.

Wednesday, 9 March 2022, saw another “Australia Speaks” lecture take place at the National Museum of Australia. The lecture was carried out in the form of a discussion, where Australian audiences were offered the opportunity to engage with big, bold ideas about the future of their country. The lecture sought to come up with ways to develop and support keen audiences across the country, and nurture our creative voices and arts and culture more broadly.

The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) and Goethe-Institut will host an online round-table discussion on 18 February from 11am to 11.45am CAT.

The Cape Town-based artist, Andrea du Plessis (40) has been announced as the winner of the 2021 Sasol New Signatures Art Competition.

Due to the Covid-19 restrictions most industry events and activities have either been cancelled or largely held online since April 2020.

The South African creative industry can be proud of the talent it continues to produce and is appreciated beyond our shores. The country’s talent impresses audiences across the world. Thuso Mbedu is one such young talent to emerge from here and is doing amazing work on a world stage showcasing raw South African talent.

SACO Executive Director, Ms Unathi Lutshaba, was recently appointed to be a contributor and to form part of the Expert Groups leading the development of the 2nd Edition Covid-19 Country Report on the implementation of measures to manage, respond and combat the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

Africa’s creative economies got a shot in the arm with the recent publication of a report by London’s King’s College. The report, titled Understanding And Supporting Creative Economies In Africa presents a critical discussion on the role of creative intermediaries, focusing specifically on their contribution to the development of creative economies in Africa.

Six young South African artists were the successful winners and recipients of the Standard Bank Young Artists for 2021. The fortunate artists are Kristi-Leigh Gresse (Dance), Vuma Levin (Jazz), Buhlebezwe Siwani (Visual Art), Cara Stacey (Music), Gavin Krastin (Performance Art) and Thando Doni (Theatre).