Artscape honoured at Guggenheim Museum event
ARTSCAPE Theatre Centre has been honoured with the Fair Saturday Foundation Award for being at the helm of transformation through the arts.
The ceremony was held at the prestigious Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, last week.
According to the Fair Saturday awards committee, Artscape was chosen for its “commitment to promoting essential values through its wide range of diverse and accessible programmes”.
The award acknowledges, in particular, the courage and determination shown by Artscape chief executive Dr Marlene le Roux as an advocate for human rights and as a social leader supporting the rights of minorities and vulnerable groups, including the disabled.
Le Roux recently received the Influencer of Influencers Award at the SA Brand Summit in Joburg for her tireless efforts in fighting for the rights of those with disabilities.
The Fair Saturday Foundation Award equally recognised Le Roux’s role in promoting social justice, facilitating access to the cultural expression of the inhabitants of Cape Town, the Western Cape and broader South Africa, and especially groups at risk of exclusion. Le Roux is the first South African and the first disabled recipient of a Fair Saturday Foundation Award.
Le Roux’s speech at the Social Innovation Through Culture Forum in the Guggenheim Museum auditorium was titled “Is it possible to move from dehumanisation to hope through the arts in a post-apartheid society?”
It spoke to the journey to restore the humanity and hope of people through the arts after apartheid.
“I accepted this award on behalf of all the marginalised individuals, the voiceless and especially people with disabilities who are still without resources and remain invisible to the world,” Le Roux said.
Artscape’s council chairperson, Princess Celenhle Dlamini, heaped praised on Le Roux, saying: “We are exceptionally proud of our chief executive, Dr Marlene le Roux, who has championed the cause of ensuring our State Theatre is accessible to all our diverse audiences”.
At this year’s awards ceremony six organisations from Spain, the US, Germany, South Africa and Rwanda were acknowledged: all of them individuals or organisations that have created inspiring projects contributing to social transformation through culture.