Lifetime awards for artists

LIFETIME Achievement Awards were handed out by the Arts and Culture Trust to three of South Africa’s most celebrated practitioners.Read More
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Lifetime Achievement Awards were handed out by the Arts and Culture Trust to three of South Africa’s most celebrated practitioners.
THREE of South Africa’s most enduring stars have received lifetime achievement awards from the Arts and Culture Trust (ACT) for their contribution to the arts: Mmakgabo Mapula Helen Sebidi for visual art, Mimi Coertse for music and Mannie Manim for theatre.

Mmakgabo Mapula Sebidi Mmakgabo Mapula Sebidi, wins the Lifetime Achievement Award for visual art The winners were announced at the prestigious 14th annual ACT Awards, held at Montecasino’s La Toscana. Veteran and up-and-coming artists were lauded at the event, held on 4 November.

Brenda Devar, the chairperson of the trust, said: “It is vitally important to acknowledge those who have served the industry selflessly, who have held on to a vision and who have been the light bearers for all of us.

“We’ve managed to single out three exceptional human beings worthy of recognition for their lifelong commitment to their art, but we also acknowledge that there are many others who have enabled those people to achieve. In a landscape that is fairly devoid of gratitude, we recognise how important it is to celebrate achievement.”

The lifetime achievement awards acknowledge excellent and extended services to certain disciplines and to South African culture as a whole.

In handing out Sebidi’s award, ACT trustee, Melissa Mboweni, said: “When looking at the life and talent of Mmakgabo Mapula Helen Sebidi, we see an artist who overcame many barriers in life and still provided a lifetime of inspiration for others. She has also given back selflessly and ensured that her talent and skill is shared with many others. We honour and salute Helen who is, undeniably, a guiding light for many in the South African art world.”

Sebidi is best known for her pointillist paintings, many of which depict allegorical themes drawn from her experience of traditional communal rural life.

Fulbright
In 1988, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to travel to the United States, where she worked at the Millay Centre for the Arts in New York. She exhibited at the Worldwide Economic Contemporary Artists’ Fund exhibition and in 1989 she won the Standard Bank Young Artist Award as well as the AA Vita Award.

Mimi CoertseMimi Coertse is all smiles as she receives a lifetime achievement award for musicSome 10 years later, in 2008, she was awarded the Order of the Baobab in Gold by the South African Presidency for her “excellent contribution in the field of visual and traditional arts and crafts”.

Coertse’s award was handed out by Trish Downing, the managing director of the South African Ballet Theatre. She noted: “Today we honour not only Mimi’s exceptional talent and the contribution she has made to music in South Africa, but also her ambassadorship in flying the flag for South African music abroad.

“In her years of achievement, she has not only stood out as an artist but has also ensured that her standing allowed for many younger artists to grow and nurture their talents through her mentorship and other efforts.”

Coertse was South Africa’s first operatic prima donna, having debuted at Vienna’s State Opera as Mozart's Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, on 17 March 1956. A decade later she received the most prestigious title from the Austrian government, Kammersängerin, and in 1985 she received the Decoration for Meritorious Service in recognition of contribution to the arts in South Africa.

She went on to receive the highest accolade an artist can receive from the Austrian government, the Österreichische Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst in 1996.

She had returned to South Africa in 1973 and co-founded the Black Tie Ensemble in 1998.

Theatre
For over half a century, Manim has been involved in many aspects of theatre, from producer to lighting designer and theatre manager. He has an extensive knowledge of the theatre and is known for his creative work on stage.

Along with Barney Simon, Manim formed part of the pioneering team that opened the Market Theatre in the 1970s. The theatre complex challenged apartheid by allowing people of all races to mingle in the audience and on stage.

Mannie ManimMannie Manim, winner of the ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for theatreHe said that it was at the Brooke Theatre that he saw Athol Fugard’s Good Friday; it made him see theatre in an all-new light and open his mind to the many opportunities that existed.

During his career he left his mark on the Johannesburg Civic Theatre, the National Arts Festival, the Market Theatre, and the theatre complexes at the University of the Witwatersrand and the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town.

The ACT Awards are considered the most prestigious arts and culture awards in the country. One of the oldest funding agencies in South Africa, ACT secures financial and logistical support and resources for arts, culture and heritage. In addition to the awards, it supports South African arts and culture through its development, festivals, scholarships and building blocks programmes.

Chantelle de Lange for design; Mack Magagane for visual arts; Jaques de Silva for theatre; and Ilke-Lea Alexander for music and singing were praised in the ImpACT Awards for young artists.

The Lifetime Achievement winners were selected by the ACT Board of Trustees and the ImpACT Awards were adjudicated by some of the country’s most recognised artists, such as Aubrey Sekhabi, the artistic director of the State Theatre in Pretoria; Bongi Dhlomo, an artist, cultural activist and the project manager of content development at the Steve Biko Centre; Eugenie Drakes, the founder and owner of Piece, a high-end craft shop; and Mark Hawkins, a dancer and founder of Very Very Big Productions.