The much anticipated winners of the 2013 Sasol New Signatures art compe-tition were honoured at the awards ceremony held at the Pretoria Art Museum, on August 28. Recognised as the longest- running national art competition in South Africa, the annual competition offers an opportunity for emerging artists to build their profiles in the industry.

Each year, the competition raises the bar, and, this year, notable improvements were seen in the works submitted.

Clinching the title, Dot Vermeulen’s piece, titled Desperately Disciplined, depicts the mobile nature of images and how nature fits into the contemporary visual culture. She received R60 000 and an opportunity to host a solo exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum next year.

According to the 2013 Sasol New Signatures judges report, her painting, juxtaposed with a digital screen, mounted on a stand in front of the painting, offers a quiet interplay between the digital world and the traditional canvas. The process of traditional painting is captured in the form of digital animation.

The runner-up, Jacques Andre du Toit, walked away with R20 000 for his winning piece, titled ‘KYK! Ek skiet tennisballe waub .. waub waub waub .. waub w’. The artist’s unique work is visual language in the form of crude drawings and ‘mind doodles’. These drawings are combined and traditionally mounted in a frame behind glass.

The five merit award recipients received R5 000 each.

For the past 24 years, petrochemicals company Sasol, in partnership with the Association of Arts Pretoria, has played an influential role in unearthing artistic talent in South Africa through the New Signatures competition.

Over the years, the competition has grown not only in popularity but also in prestige as the quality of submitted works continues to significantly improve.

“This year, we also saw an increase in submissions that reflect people’s personal experiences and bring pertinent social, economic, political and psychological issues to the fore. With the awards ceremony steadily approaching, the judges had their work cut out for them as they chose the winning piece from a pool of 97 artworks,” explains Sasol New Signatures selection panel national chairperson Peter Binsbergen.

“The New Signatures art competition aims to inspire creativity among emerging artists, while simultaneously increasing South Africa’s appreciation of the arts. We encourage all finalists to continue to extend their craft and contribute towards the improvement of the state of art in South Africa,” says Sasol’s sponsorship manager, Richard Hughes.

This year, close to 450 entries were received and 97 were shortlisted for final judging, an increase from last year’s 88. Binsbergen attributed this increase to the fact that artists have taken note of the high standard set, and understand that submitted works need to be of an exceptional standard to compete with the incredible pool of emerging artists in South Africa.

he National Youth Orchestra performed ‘Sasol Concerts’ in Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown during the National Arts Festival earlier this year.

The 2013 National Youth Orchestra was conducted by internationally renowned Gérard Korsten and concerts were held at the Feather Market Centre, in Port Elizabeth, and as part of the National Arts Festival at the Guy Butler Theatre, in Grahamstown.

On the programme were Dvorak’s Sym-phony No 7 and Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis.

Orchestra courses are held throughout the year, but the Sasol-sponsored winter course is a highlight, with 150 participants and a wide selection of top musicians from across the globe.

The international faculty teaches and mentors participants regarding individual instruments, as well as provides tuition in subjects as diverse as instrument repair, composition, arts administration and ensemble playing.

“Sasol has been supporting the South African National Youth Orchestra Founda-tion’s initiatives since 1979. “We are committed to the development of the arts and culture in South Africa and believe in our young talent. “The Sasol course attracts top-quality musicians from across the country and the public performances delight audiences year after year,” says Hughes.

Selected entirely on merit, participants in the National Youth Orchestra programmes come from across South Africa. Participants are selected to form part of one of two orchestras – the National Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Concert Orchestra.

Three-quarters of South African orchestral musicians in the symphony orchestras have played in the National Youth Orchestra and many of the alumni are now professionals in top orchestras around the world.

The National Youth Orchestra was founded almost half a century ago and, in its history, it has hosted yearly orchestra courses, concerts, international and national tours as well as workshops for young musicians. It has become one of South Africa’s most successful music institutions.

Durban-based flautist Sakhile Humbane, says he has had the privilege of being part of the National Youth Orchestra for the past two years.

“I have learnt a tremendous amount about orchestral and wind ensemble playing, which I would never have received anywhere else in South Africa,” says Humbane.