Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni (photo: Theatre Arts)
The Tribuo Fund, as part of their Tribuo Sessions series, held a conference from 5–7 June 2025 at STIAS in Stellenbosch. Discussions and presentations focused on how leaders and creators are navigating change, driving innovation and shaping the future of the arts in South Africa.
Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni talks to Naomi Meyer about her recent contribution at the Tribuo conference in Stellenbosch.
Please would you tell LitNet’s readers about Tribuo and why this support fund is essential for South African arts and artists? This fund originated during the lockdown, but why is this fund and its ongoing support still in existence? Is everything not back to normal?
In a creative economy that is trying to figure itself out in real time, there is space for avenues of innovation and systems of support in trying to figure those things out. Tribuo is one of many organisations trying to fill in that “systems of support” role. “Back to normal” is a subjective phrase; were things “normal” before? What does “normalcy” look like? Does it look like some sort of “equilibrium”? Because if that is the case, there really was no normalcy. There is no deadline to managing a “figuring out” moment/situation, so a person, an organisation, an institution keeps going until it cannot.
What is your role in the arts and at the Tribuo Fund? Please tell our readers who you are.
I’m predominantly a playwright-director, but my role in the arts is ever-changing, and I show up where I can if I have the necessary capabilities. The creative industry often asks for a multidisciplinary approach to working; so, steady as she goes, as the industry grows and I try to grow with it. The Tribuo Fund kindly invited me to reflect on the role of young creatives in South Africa’s current cultural landscape, and I paused, pondered and showed up because it’s something we’re all thinking about.
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We have generalised, time-dependent structures for success (like, by this age you must have achieved “a, b, c” in order to have a chance to get your work on this platform or get this recognition or longevity, etc), but I think we would benefit more from slower-paced structures of “failing meaningfully”, in order for them to find their own individual paths to success.
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Artists think about the arts. Maybe they don’t even think about the arts – they create because they have no choice. However, artists need money to create more art and to pay their bills and to receive funds to keep creating. Please tell me about the mutual relationship between arts and money, and any other factors relevant, which are discussed at this conference. Could you elaborate on your specific presentation at this year’s Tribuo conference?
My takeaway from the conference is that there are many stakeholders – from graduates to established artists, to producers to curators to executives to technical support, you name it – thinking through the workings of South Africa’s creative economy beyond just funding models, because those models create a dependency that is not necessarily beneficial. The model might “plug the flood” in the short term, but generational, long-term thinking needs alternatives. My presentation was a reflection on the role of one of the creative economy’s role-players, the young creatives. Where do they go from here with what is at their disposal? The youth are often positioned as the change-makers, but they find themselves in a position where they are expected to figure everything out quickly and perfectly from the get-go, because “time is running out”, and if they don’t have it figured out, it’s game over. We have generalised, time-dependent structures for success (like, by this age you must have achieved “a, b, c” in order to have a chance to get your work on this platform or get this recognition or longevity, etc), but I think we would benefit more from slower-paced structures of “failing meaningfully”, in order for them to find their own individual paths to success.
Also read:
Tribuo Conference 2025: an interview with Lakin Morgan-Baatjies
Is jy wakker vir die kunste? ’n Onderhoud oor die Tribuo Wawyd-wakker-veldtog
The post Tribuo Conference 2025: an interview with Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni first appeared on LitNet.
The post Tribuo Conference 2025: an interview with Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni appeared first on LitNet.