Image: Gibson Kente  (no copyright infringement is intended.)  SATURDAY EDITION | ARTS, CULTURE & COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT     WHAT THE GIBSON KENTE LECTURE DEBATE TEACHES US ABOUT HONOUR, POWER, AND PROGRAMME By Thami akaMbongo Manzana  | The Creative Passport Image: Gibson Kente  (no copyright infringement is intended.)  Arts, Culture & Community Across the world, cultural institutions are grappling with uncomfortable but necessary questions: Who controls legacy? Who decides honour? And what does it mean to truly preserve cultural memory beyond symbolism? In the United States, an ongoing debate has erupted following the announcement that the  John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has been renamed the Trump Kennedy Center , after executive leadership changes saw President  Donald J. Trump elected as Chair of the Kennedy Center Board , replacing David M. Rubenstein . The development has ignited global discourse around the ...

  Image: The Creative Passport Online Media Logo FRIDAY EDITION |  PODCAST / MULTIMEDIA  MZANSI GOLDEN ECONOMY (MGE) – THE NPO CERTIFICATE DILEMMA If you are an artist, cultural worker, producer, company director, or anyone operating within South Africa’s Cultural and Creative Industries, this is not just another policy conversation — this is about access, exclusion, and accountability. We are urging you to revisit this episode because it addresses an issue that continues to quietly shape who gets funded, who gets excluded, and who is left explaining themselves to a system that refuses to explain its own decisions. Image: MGE Logo (Source: DSAC)  WHY THIS EPISODE MATTERS The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) has faced sustained backlash from the sector over the MGE requirement for an NPO Certificate, a requirement administered by the Deppartment of Social Development — not CIPC. This becomes a problem because: A. Many creative entities operate as NPC...

Image: Call for Nomination poster      (Source: South African State Theatre) THURSDAY EDITION | FUNDING / OPPORTUNITIES / INDUSTRY NOTICES   The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has opened nominations for suitably qualified and experienced individuals to serve on the Council of the South African State Theatre (SAST). Image: Call for Nomination advert     (Source: www.gov.za) This is a critical opportunity for practitioners within the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) to step forward and participate directly in arts governance, policy oversight, and institutional leadership. Image: SAST Logo (Source: South African State Theatre) WHY THIS MATTERS FOR THE SECTOR For too long, key cultural institutions have been governed by individuals who may be competent professionals, but do not fully understand the lived realities of the arts sector. The Cultural and Creative Industries are complex. They require leadership that understands: - A...

  A YEAR OF TRUTH, ACCOUNTABILITY AND ACTION IN THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES Published as we cross into 2026 — your reflections help shape the year ahead As we step into 2026, it would be intellectually dishonest for  The Creative Passport  to offer a generic New Year greeting without confronting the realities that continue to shape — and in many ways suffocate — the Cultural and Creative Industries in South Africa and across the continent. Celebration without reflection becomes denial. Optimism without accountability becomes theatre. This platform was founded to document, question, analyse and amplify the lived experiences of practitioners operating in a sector rich in creativity and heritage, yet persistently undermined by weak regulation, delayed policy implementation, political opportunism and a culture that often punishes truth-tellers instead of protecting them. If 2026 is to mean anything, it must be a year where we move beyond statements and symbolism into...