The Mother City’s Artscape Theatre Centre has been honoured with a truly prestigious award for their efforts in transformation through the Arts.
At the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain on June 24, the Artscape Theatre was presented with the Fair Saturday Foundation Award in recognition of its honourable and committed work in promoting essential values through a wide range of creative expression.
The award was given not only to the Artscape but also to the CEO, Marlene le Roux, who has done sterling work as an Arts practitioner in the country.
On top of the stellar work done to promote positive and necessary values, le Roux was also awarded for her unwavering courage and determination in being an advocate for human rights, particularly for minorities and vulnerable groups including disabled individuals.
Le Roux has used the Artscape as a platform for promoting social justice through culture, making the establishment a benchmark for inclusion and civil empowerment encouraging cultural expression not only in Cape Town but in the province as a whole.
She is the first South African as well as the first disabled recipient of a Fair Saturday Foundation Award.
Her speech delivered at the Social Innovation through Culture forum in the Guggenheim Museum Auditorium in Bilbao was titled “Is it possible to move from dehumanisation to hope through the Arts in a post-Apartheid society?” Her speech focused on reminding international audiences that restoring humanity through the Arts in post-Apartheid South Africa is still a quest for justice.
“I accepted this award on behalf of all the marginalised individuals, the voiceless and especially people with disabilities who are still without resources and remain invisible to the world,” le Roux said in her acceptance speech.
Artscape’s Council chairperson, Her Royal Highness Princess Celenhle Dlamini, praised le Roux, saying, “We are exceptionally proud of our CEO, Marlene le Roux, who has championed the cause of ensuring our State Theatre is accessible to all our diverse audiences.”
The Artscape Theatre Centre was one of six organisations from USA, Germany, Spain, Rwanda, and South Africa to be acknowledged for their individual quests to inspire and uplift their communities through projects directly related to social transformation.
