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Relief fund for Gauteng arts, sport professionals now open

The Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation has reopened the window of opportunity, targeting individuals to apply for the sector relief fund.

This second phase is earmarked for individuals running programmes within the sectors of sport, recreation, culture and creative industries.

It also targets those working in the local and community level.

However, the application is opened for only Gauteng based individuals with projects that are implemented within the province.

The department has acknowledged that the sport and the arts have been some of those most affected by lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19.

“We have previously received applications but unfortunately a lot of people couldn’t apply because of lockdown regulations which restricted their movements. Now that we are on level 1, we believe a lot of people will now have a chance to apply,” says MEC Mbali Hlophe.

The department said this was the province’s intervention efforts to help those who have been adversely hit by the pandemic especially those with limited or no assistance.

Those who are eligible to apply under the sports category include athletes, coaches, fitness industry, recreational sector, technical support services, event managers and coordinators, sport and recreational administrators.

It also covers musicians, visual artists, crafters, jewellery designers, fashion designers, art administrators, technical support services, event managers and coordinators.

Individuals in the film and TV industry also working in an informal sector will also be considered for funding.

Applicants have until the 30 October 2020 to make their submissions.

According to the department, the relief fund applications are managed and finalised in consultation with the Gauteng Sports Confederation, relevant sports federations, and the Recreation Industry and the Gauteng Arts and Culture Council and will follow certain criteria.

Application forms are obtainable on www.gauteng.gov.za or SACR.Communications@gauteng.gov.za.

The forms can be submitted either online on sacrrelieffund@gauteng.gov.za or physically at 35 Rissik Street, Surrey House Building, Corner Fox Street JHB and Corridor Offices across the province.-SAnews.gov.za

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From Sophiatown to Triomf

By 1963, Sophiatown had been physically razed to the ground. In a final act of psychological warfare, the government built a white working-class suburb over the rubble and named it Triumph (Triomf). They wanted to erase the very memory of Sophiatown from the landscape. For decades, the name Sophiatown disappeared from maps, replaced by the neat, sterile streets of the victors.

The “resurrection” of Sophiatown began officially in 2006, when the City of Johannesburg formally restored the original name to the suburb. Today, the neighborhood is a quiet, leafy residential area, but the ghosts of the “Paris of the Transvaal” are everywhere. The Sophiatown Heritage Centre, housed in the former home of Dr. A.B. Xuma (a former ANC president), is one of the few original buildings that escaped the bulldozers. Walking through the streets today, you can still find small markers of the past: a lone Victorian pillar, a specific tree mentioned in a poem, or the rebuilt St. Joseph’s Church.

The legacy of Sophiatown is not just one of tragedy, but of an indestructible cultural spirit. The music, the slang (Tsotsitaal), and the “Drum” era aesthetic continue to influence South African fashion and film today. It serves as a reminder that while you can bulldoze a house and rename a street, you cannot kill the soul of a place that once danced to the sound of a thousand saxophones.