National Arts Awards 2025 celebrate South Africa’s creative future
The stage at Sun City’s Super Bowl came alive when the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) hosted the 2025 National Arts and Culture Awards – a ceremony that put the nation’s creative talent in the spotlight.
The awards recognise achievement across literature, visual arts, design, heritage, performing arts and audio-visual storytelling. Established figures and emerging voices received honours that reflect the resilience and imagination powering South Africa’s creative economy. (Music In Africa)
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In literature, Barbara Boswell won the Outstanding Book, Fiction award for The Comrade’s Wife. Boswell wrote that she felt ‘so honoured’ by the recognition and dedicated the prize to Bessie Head, Miriam Tlali, Lauretta Ngcobo and survivors of gender-based violence. Her publisher shared congratulations across social channels.
Screen and performance categories highlighted work that engages history and identity. London Recruits, directed by Jacintha De Nobrega, received Outstanding Documentary Film, while INGOMA by Moeketsi Koena won Outstanding Dance Production and Napo Masheane took Outstanding Poet Performance. Each winner shows how storytelling opens new public conversations. (Daily News)
Heritage awards acknowledged institutions that preserve national memory. Freedom Park Heritage Site Museum won the Outstanding Cultural Landscape Award and the William Humphreys Art Gallery was named the Outstanding Museum for its exhibitions and outreach. Design, fashion and visual artists also received recognition for creative innovation across disciplines.
DSAC said the ceremony reaffirmed its commitment to protecting heritage, championing innovation and creating platforms for artistic expression. The evening combined formal recognition with performances and tributes that celebrated how art carries history, inspires unity and shapes the future.
For the full winners list and the DSAC media release, see the department statement.
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Picture: Dr Barbara Boswell / LinkedIn
