Call for nominations for the 14th Annual ACT Awards

The annual ACT Awards 2011 is presented by the Vodacom Foundation, the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO) and the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO).

"The visual arts provide us as a nation with a dynamic and vivid reflection of our artistic and cultural life. As a proud sponsor of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Visual Art, the Vodacom Foundation pays tribute to the creativity an excellence of our visual artists in expressing their vision," said Mthobi Tyamzashe, executive director of corporate social investment at Vodacom.

Three Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented to luminaries for their lifelong contribution to theatre, music and visual arts in South Africa. Winners are nominated and selected by the ACT Trustees.

ACT also presents four ImpACT Awards to emerging artists at a time in their careers when they have shown commitment to, and reached some professional standing in, their chosen discipline. Young professional artists, up to the age of 30, who fall within the first three years of their professional careers are eligible for nomination.

Awards will be presented in four broad arts categories with selected disciplines being eligible for consideration in each.

The categories

* Visual Art (Painting and Printmaking, Sculpting, Public Installations & Photography)
* Performing Arts (Dance, Acting, Musical Theatre & Physical Theatre)
* Music & Singing (Classical, Contemporary & Jazz)
* Design (Craft, Graphic Design, Fashion Design & Web Design)

Winners of the ImpACT Awards for Young Professionals are selected by an independent panel of judges. Awards will only be presented if a satisfactory number of quality nominations are received in the various categories and the adjudication panel reserves the right to carry over such awards to the following year.

The closing date for nominations is 29 July 2011. For guidelines and nomination forms, go to the ACT website at www.act.org.za.