As sponsor of the Arts and Culture Trust Lifetime Achiever Award, Vodacom believes it is fitting that the 2006 winner, internationally-renowned artist Ester Mahlangu, has been recognised for the innovative use of memory and tradition in her art.
The award was presented to Mahlangu at the annual Arts and Culture Trust Awards. In addition to sponsoring the Lifetime Achiever Award, Vodacom is a founding sponsor of the Arts and Culture Trust.
Mthobi Tyamzashe, Chairman of the Vodacom Foundation, said: "Vodacom is a company that values both innovation and the legacy of our traditions. It is fitting that an artist who has blended these two components, achieving fame in a global arena, is the winner of this year's Arts and Culture Trust Lifetime Achiever Award."
Born in 1935, Mahlangu lives in Mpumalanga Province. Against all odds, she travelled and exhibited overseas at a time when political turmoil at home and sanctions abroad made international participation a dream for all but a few South African artists.
Mahlangu's stylistic vocabulary is deeply embedded in the memory and tradition of the Ndebele culture. From the beginning she has set herself apart in her objective to showcase and educate the world about her culture and art. Her innovative style is widely recognised: for example, she was the first artist to transfer mural art to canvas. She uses works in various styles and media ranging from cow dung and natural pigment on canvas to beadwork and sculpture.
She has put her adaptations of the distinctive highly coloured geometric Ndebele designs on a wide range of objects. In 1991, for example, she was invited to paint a prototype of the new BMW 525i model. The BMW, eleventh in the Art Car Collection, was the first to be decorated by a black woman artist.
As a company committed to creating a legacy of prosperity and satisfaction among its customers and their communities, Vodacom recognises the value of the arts for South African society. Arts and culture thus forms one of the priorities funded by the Vodacom Foundation.
The Arts and Culture Trust helps to foster and develop creativity in South Africa through the evaluation and support of arts, culture and heritage projects. The ACT also provides bursary funds to formal and non-formal educational institutions specialising in arts and culture, who distribute such funds to individual students at their institutions.
More than just a funding agency, ACT is a proactive proponent of the arts in South Africa and the Annual ACT Awards recognise the significant contributions made by communities, artists, administrators, educators and journalists towards the development and advancement of arts and culture in South Africa.
In addition to the Vodacom Foundation, ACT is supported by founding trustees the Department of Arts and Culture, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, Nedbank, and Sun International.
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