The winners for the 2003 Standard Bank Young Artist Awards were announced in Johannesburg on November 19, marking the 22nd year of these prestigious awards.
The awards were given to Berni Searle for Visual Art, Dumisani Phakathi for Film, Yael Farber for Drama, Moya Michael for Dance and Angela Gilbert for Music.
In 1981 the National Arts Festival Committee introduced the Young Artist Awards for Drama, Music, and Fine Art as a separate component of the main Festival programme. Designed to encourage the recipients in the pursuit of their careers, each of the winners will feature on the main programme of the 2003 National Arts Festival, to be held in Grahamstown from 27 June to 5 July 2003. The winners each receive substantial backing for their Festival participation, be it the mounting of an exhibition or the staging of a production as well as a cash prize.
The Young Artist Awards recognise South Africans of a relatively young age who have demonstrated exceptional artistic promise within their discipline but who have not yet achieved extensive national exposure and acclaim. This year’s awards were celebrated at a glittering ceremony, held at the Gramadoelas restaurant at the Market Theatre precinct.
“We are pleased to once more sponsor the Young Artist Awards and in so doing, play an active role in the development and promotion of our country’s up-and-coming artists,” says Khanyi Mlambo, Director Group Sponsorships at Standard Bank. “The Awards are a forum for experimentation where innovative concepts are tested and gambles taken. We believe the Awards play a vital role in nurturing South African talent.”
It was in 1984 that it was agreed by the Festival Committee to make these awards open to all the arts disciplines. Four to five awards are made annually and are now well established as the Standard Bank Young Artist Awards. From 1981 to 1983, Five Roses sponsored the awards. Since 1984 Standard Bank have been the sponsor making this 19 years of committed recognition and support of our country’s extraordinary talents.
Since the inception of the awards, and including the 2003 recipients, a total of 72 awards have been presented plus three special awards to artists in recognition of their contribution to the National Arts Festival and the arts of South Africa in general.