Our Journey
Where we’ve come from:
The Arts and Culture Trust has been actively serving the arts and culture sector in all 9 provinces of South Africa for 30 years. The value of this legacy lies not only in the longevity and sustainability of the organisation, but the fact that the organisation prides itself in keeping up with trends across the arts sector and therefore includes emerging discipl
ines that are critical to the future survival and growth of the industry. Although the ACT was known as the Arts and Culture Trust of the President when it opened its doors in 1994, it now functions completely independent of government as a registered non-profit organisation. Not only does the majority of its support come from the private sector and ACT’s investment portfolio, but the organisation is an influencer in the sector, with a reputation that lends credibility to the initiatives and organisations it becomes involved with. Where we are going:
The Trust has evolved from a traditional grant-making approach to investing in the advancement of the arts and creatives sector. To this end, the organisation focusses on development and capacity building through professional training and mentorships, as well as and investments in the Cultural and Creative Industry through the support of entrepreneurial activity. Our goal is to be the Custodians of the Arts in SA, representing the arts industry and their interests by empowering and strengthening partnership networks across communities. This is how we make the arts sustainable.
