New dawn for the NAC
- By http://www.basa.co.za/pages/news-article/new_dawn_for_the_nac
NAC appoints new CEO and CFO in support of corporate governance and fulfilling the mandate of the NAC.
The National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC), committed to developing and promoting excellence in the arts, is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Chief Executive Officer Ms Monica Newton and Chief Financial Officer Mr. Thami Kubheka.
“We believe that their wealth of knowledge and expertise will play a critical role in ensuring efficiency in the implementation of the NAC mandate. Their understanding of the National imperatives will inform their leadership roles in the development of arts across the country and, ensuring that the arts takes its rightful place on the develop agenda”, said Ms Angie Makwetla, NAC Chairperson.
The appointments come at a time of great opportunity in the arts with the Department of Arts & Culture's new strategic direction, the Mzansi’s Golden Economy Strategy. As an institution with the mandate to promote, develop and support the arts, the NAC has a critical role to play, along with a range of stakeholders, in supporting the objectives of the strategy. At its core, the strategy aims to highlight and mainstream the role and contribution of the arts to the economy with a focus on stimulating demand for cultural products, audience and human capital development, research and heritage development.
It is also great uncertainty in the arts, with the global and local economy struggling to rebound which is continuing to impact on arts audiences, international donors and corporate sponsors who are reviewing their levels of involvement in a range of sectors across the economy including the arts. In these exciting and challenging times, the role of the National Arts Council will be critical in supporting the arts sector to maximize opportunities and overcome obstacles.
Monica Newton
Monica holds a Masters Degree in Industrial Sociology obtained from the University of the Witwatersrand. Since obtaining her degree, she has focused her career on the creative and public sector, working as a public servant and consultant in the three spheres of government and a range of parastatals.
She has considerable knowledge and expertise in the field of Arts, Culture, and Heritage. Monica was employed by the then Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology in 1997 where she worked on the Cultural Industries Growth Strategy (CIGS), the first of the country’s strategies to develop the economic potential of the arts, and the cultural industries development portfolio that emerged from the strategy. Over the last ten years, Monica has worked as a consultant on a range of arts development and creative industries development strategies and projects for national, provincial and local government, and research projects for a variety of clients including Sector Education and Training Authorities and arts institutions. Monica was also involved in the planning and development stages of the Ikhaya Lethemba Centre for Victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse, advising the Department of Community Safety on the operational model of the first one-stop centre for victims in the province.
Eager to learn more about government at all levels, she took on a post in the Gauteng Premier’s office of Policy Development and Monitoring in 2001. Her job included working with inter-departmental stakeholders and inter-governmental fora, making inputs into high-level governance structures, managing strategy development processes and conducting research on specific areas related to the Premier’s responsibilities Before joining the National Arts Council, Monica was a Chief Director in the Office of the Premier: Gauteng, responsible for, amongst others, organizational performance monitoring and strategic planning in the organization. In fulfilling her role in the organization, she was an integral part of the administration that, under the leadership of the DG in the Office of the Premier, delivered an unqualified audit opinion in 2008/09 and two consecutive clean audits in 2009/10 and 2010/2011 for the Office of the Premier.
Teaching is a fundamental part of Monica’s life, which came into being when she was invited to lecture a module on Arts Policy at the Wits School of Arts for a post graduate programme in Arts, Culture and Heritage Management. Over the years, this relationship has evolved into a part-time lecturing position in the Wits School of Arts, where she lectures on subjects ranging from arts policy to the operational skills necessary to run a successful arts organization, and supervises the work of Masters Students. This relationship with the University will continue with the agreement of both Wits and the NAC.