Judging Panel announced for ImpACT Awards

The panel of judges, who will be adjudicating the 2013 Arts & Culture Trust ImpACT Awards for Young Professionals, has been announced.

Making the difficult decision will be convener of the panel of judges, ACT Ambassador and creative professional Brenda Sakellarides and judges Gita Pather, Director of Wits Theatre; Steven Sack, arts administrator extraordinaire and director of the Origins Centre; Usha Seejarim, conceptual visual and public artist; Sifiso Kweyama, dancer/choreographer and company manager of Moving Into Dance and Concord Nkabinde, 2006 Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz, bass guitarist.

“It is a significant achievement to receive an affirmation of this nature within the first five years of professional life. It holds both a responsibility and an impetus to continue making a difference and making an impact. If our previous ImpACT winners are the yardstick, then our future is in very safe creative hands. As a sector we must make sure that we actively engage with these energetic shape shifters.” says Brenda Sakellarides, Chairperson of the judging panel.

Brenda Sakellarides is a creative catalyst and ACT’s Ambassador. She studied at UKZN where she graduated with an Honours degree in Speech & Drama (cum laude) in 1984. Her journey in the creative sector has seen her work as an actress, singer, creative consultant, project developer and arts administrator. She is the Director of Pink Room Productions, a music studio and creative consultancy, which offers a wide range of services including the generation of original music for theatre, film and television, copy and script writing and arts management services.

Gita Pather’s career has been multi-faceted, spanning performing arts, television, and arts policy, tertiary education, change management, marketing and communications strategy. She has served in executive managerial capacities for over 25 years at some of South Africa’s leading institutions, and currently serves as Director of Wits Theatre.

Steven Sack’s career spans over an incredible four decades. It has seen him work in education; government and the museum sector, including management positions in arts and culture, theatres, art institutions and community development. He is currently the director of the The Origins Centre.

Usha Seejarim’s work explores notions of identity and context with a fascination for the mundane and the ordinary, often using domestic and found materials in her art making. She has had six solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions nationally and internationally, as well as producing significant public artworks on commission. Her own training includes a Master’s Degree in Fine Art from Wits University.

Sifiso Kweyama has performed, choreographed and taught dance around the world. He honed his craft at Jazzart Dance Theatre under Alfred Hinkel, where he performed in many award-winning productions. Sifiso has been invited by the University of Southern California and University of South Florida to give dance lectures in African Contemporary dance and choreography. He has also been a regular African dance assessor for African dance at University of Cape Town, University of Zululand (Ongoye) and for the matric students in Gauteng. In 2011, he joined Moving into Dance Mophatong as Company Manager and Rehearsal Director.

Concord Nkabinde is a well-travelled, highly-respected and in-demand musician as a Bass Guitarist, Musical Director, Composer and Arranger, who runs his own record label, Drocnoc Music through which he has commercially released two CDs & a live DVD which was nominated for a South African Music Award in 2012. He also sits on the POSA (Performers Organisation of South Africa) Board as well as the CASA (Composers Association of South Africa) Board.

Public nominations for the ImpACT Awards for Young Professionals, sponsored by the Distell Foundation, may be submitted in the following four categories: Visual Art, Theatre, Music & Singing and Design. These awards are presented annually to honour young artists who have reached a professional standing in their discipline, and are within the first five years of their professional careers.

Nominations are open until 2 August 2013. Winners of ImpACT Awards are selected by the independent panel of judges and will be announced at the Awards ceremony scheduled to take place in Johannesburg in November 2013.

Please follow the link to submit your nominations:
http://tinyurl.com/oh9o5po or http://www.act.org.za/programmes_awards.htm?yearArchive=&category=ACT%20Awards

The 2013 ACT Awards ceremony is presented in association with the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO), the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO), Media24 Books, the Vodacom Foundation and is supported by the Distell Foundation, CLASSICfeel Magazine and Business and Arts South Africa (BASA).

For more information about the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) please visit www.act.org.za.

URL: http://www.act.org.za/
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Author: Fiona Gordon from The Famous Idea Trading Co.. Originally distributed by MyPR.co.za.

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