Thapong gets P1.7m shot in the arm

Spira Tlhankane | Friday September 21, 2018 14:55

 

This was revealed during the two’s partnership launch this week.

BTC Foundation chairperson Kgosi Michael Mothobi said the Foundation and Thapong Visual Arts Centre have seen it proper to formalise the agreement between them through a three-year sponsorship to the value of P1.7 million.

“Besides TAYA and the phonebook competition the sponsorship also covers training and development of teachers, administration, curator fees amongst other expenses,” he said.

Mothobi said artists would be sponsored to attend workshops and share skills with an array of established professionals from across the SADC region to ensure that they gain international exposure and widen their scope.

He said the BTC phonebook competition that helped to unearth local artistic talent has continued to grow as well as the relationship between Thapong and BTC. “As the Foundation and I surmise that it is true of our partner, we found it prudent to have a formal agreement to develop the visual arts at grassroot level and monitor progress, hence the sponsorship announcement,” he highlighted.

Mothobi further said that in 2016 subsequent to the establishment of the Foundation, their sponsorship increased to include TAYA.

For his part the acting chairperson of Thapong, Tom Ketlogetswe said the gesture was historic for the centre because they only hear and salivate at such amounts normally associated with sport and fields other than the arts. “This initiative by BTC means a great deal to the creative industry. It serves as a huge assignment for the private sector and other parastatals to emulate BTC towards developing talent,” he said.

Ketlogetswe said this is not the first time BTC has extended its assistance to Thapong.  He said for some years now BTC entrusted Thapong with the coordination of the phonebook cover competition.  “It is a sign that we have excelled in delivering this assignment,but we acknowledged that we need to do more to continue attracting more resources from them,” he said.  Ketlogetswe further stated that since TAYA was initiated in 2004, the awards have been growing from strength to strength with a central focus being Thapong members.

“TAYA has registered a resounding success with an increasing number of artists’ participation in each successive year of the prestigious award and with a record of 400 artists to date,” he said.