The prestigious Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Lifetime Achievement awards honour arts professionals whose extraordinary careers have had a profound and lasting impact on arts, culture and heritage.

Four highly regarded industry veterans received Lifetime Achievement awards for their contribution to the arts: author Nadine Gordimer for the newly inaugurated Literature award, Welcome Msomi for Theatre, Andrew Verster for Visual Arts and Jonas Gwangwa for Music.

Gordimer, an outspoken critic of apartheid, and one of the leading novelists of her age, received the inaugural ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature.

ACT Trustee Robin Malan together with Eloise Wessels, CEO of Media24 Books presented the award to Gordimer.

ACT Trustee, Themi Venturas, together with Gérard Robinson, chairperson of the Board of the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO), presented Welcome Msomi with his Theatre award. Msomi is perhaps best known as the founder and director of the Izulu Dance Theatre and Music Company established in 1965 in Durban. He has won international acclaim as a playwright, choreographer and director.

Andrew Verster boasts an artistic career that spans many decades. His imagination has touched people through his short stories, articles and radio plays, but his most significant contribution is to South African visual arts through his body of work spread over more than fifty innovative top quality solo exhibitions. ACT Trustee, Trish Downing and CSI Executive Head of the Vodacom Foundation, Mthobeli Tengimfene presented the award to Verster.

Jonas Gwangwa, a Soweto-born product of the turbulent, but musically significant 1950s, electrified the famous Sophiatown music scene. Gwangwa, with his contemporaries; Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and Caiphus Semenya, is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s living legends of music. He received his award from ACT Trustee, Mpho Molepo and the Chief Financial Officer of SAMRO, Ms Bronwen Harty.

“ACT is in a unique position to reflect on, and celebrate, the extraordinary lives and achievements of these worthy recipients. We are truly privileged to be presenting the ACT Awards in association with partners and our generous sponsors who not only share our vision, passion and commitment but recognise the importance of acknowledging the achievements of individuals who make such significant contributions to the advancement of South African arts and culture”, commented Pieter Jacobs, CEO of ACT.

The Lifetime Achievement award recipients are nominated and selected by the ACT Board of Trustees. Past recipients whose lifetime achievements have contributed significantly to the enrichment of cultural life in South Africa include, among many others, Gibson Kente, Miriam Makeba, John Kani and Gcina Mhlope. Last year’s honours went to Mmakgabo Mapula Helen Sebidi (Visual Art); Mannie Manim (Theatre) and Mimi Coertse (Music).

Also presented at this highly regarded cultural event are the ImpACT Awards for Young Professionals. These awards, inaugurated in 2010 and sponsored by the Distell Foundation, honour young professional artists whose work has made an impact within the first three years of their professional careers.

The 2012 ImpACT Awards went to: Phillip Dikotla in the Theatre category; The Muffinz in the Music & Singing category; Bambo Sibiya, in the Visual Arts category and Ozlo, South Africa in the Design category.

Dikotla is a 22-year-old, multi-disciplined performance artist, poet, comedian and writer who graduated from The Market Theatre Laboratory in 2010. He develops plays in workshop environments, writes, and performs in many theatre plays and he is a founding member of Arch Entertainment. His passion for stand-up comedy and improvisation has landed him appearances on Gare Dumeli (SABC2) and more recently Tshisa III (SABC1).

The Muffinz, an eclectic soul group was formed in 2010 when Mthabisi Sibanda, Simphiwe Kulla and Sifiso Buthelezi met while singing in the University of Johannesburg Choir. Karabo Moeketsi and Gregory Mabusela joined them in 2011. The Muffinz then secured a recording contract with independent record label, Just Music, and subsequently an 11-track aural adventure called Have You Heard? was successfully launched in May.

Visual artist Bambo Sibiya was born and raised in Springs (Kwa-Thema). He completed his fine art studies at the Benoni Technical College and the Artist Proof Studio. He has since participated in several art exhibitions, including the Artist Proof Studio Art Exhibition (2009), 30 Art Works, Springs Art Gallery and a Spier Arts Exhibition. He was a finalist in the Absa L’Atelier competition, received a Merit Award at the Ekurhuleni Art Awards (2010) and recently made his international exhibition debut in a show in Abu-Dhabi.

Ozlo South Africa is the fashion label created by 26-year-old Jabu Mdluli from the East Rand, Gauteng who studied Graphic Design at The Open Window School of Visual Communication (TOW). At the beginning of 2012, Mdluli opened an Ozlo Clothing Store in the Maboneng Precinct of Johannesburg. This proudly South African clothing store specialises in local brands, and designers with vintage collections and interesting furniture makes shopping at The Ozlo Store an unprecedented experience.

The nomination process for the ImpACT Awards is open to the public and each year a new panel of judges is convened. The 2012 panel of judges included Brenda Sakellarides, George ka Mxadana, Janet Watts, Kga-fela oa Magogodi and PJ Sabbagha.

The 2012 ACT Awards was sponsored by the Vodacom Foundation, SAMRO, DALRO and Media24 Books. Supporters of the 15th ACT Awards included: Distell Foundation; Classicfeel magazine; Business and Arts South Africa (BASA); and The Fairway Hotel & Golf Resort.

The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) is South Africa's premier, independent arts and culture funding and development agency. This awards event, which is now celebrating fifteen years since inception, has recognised more than 350 individuals and organisations that have made significant contributions to cultural life in South Africa.

For more information, visit www.act.org.za