In a world hungry for authenticity and transformation, the 2025 Standard Bank Young Artist Award (SBYA) winners arrive not with whispers - but with resounding, radical clarity. Now in its 40th year, the SBYA is more than a prestigious accolade. It’s a cultural compass, pointing toward the future of South African creativity, and this year’s honourees are mapping entirely new territory.
The six artists announced this April are not just visionaries in their fields; they are storytellers who weave history, place, and identity into every note, step, line, and stroke. From the spirited townships of Limpopo to the rehearsal halls of Paris, their journeys are as expansive as their imaginations.
Six Artists. Six Portals to the Future
Asanda Ruda takes us to the crossroads of myth and motion. Her choreography, layered with ancestral echoes and contemporary fluidity, channels Soweto’s soul while speaking fluently to global stages. Her solo piece Kemet (Black Lands), already internationally celebrated, is a vivid reminder that dance can be both protest and poetry.
Siyasanga “Siya” Charles, a Juilliard-trained trombonist, brings a rich, fearless fusion to South African jazz. Her bold sonic textures ripple through generations, offering a conversation between tradition and innovation - between home and diaspora.
From the verdant heart of Limpopo, Muneyi blends memory and melody in a deeply personal soundscape. His Tshivenda lyrics transcend borders, telling tales passed down by his Makhulu (grandmother), honouring the oral traditions that have shaped communities for centuries.
Modise Sekgothe challenges the very definition of poetry. His work is part spoken word, part performance art, and entirely unbound. Whether in Brussels or Washington DC, his voice doesn’t just fill rooms - it reshapes them.
A theatre-maker and multidisciplinary force, Calvin Ratladi crafts immersive experiences that dissolve the walls of the stage. His work, recognised across Europe and Southern Africa, is a meditation on the personal, political, and performative.
Nyakallo Maleke invites us into her intricate visual worlds—intimate cartographies of migration and memory. Her drawings aren’t static representations but living documents of place, emotion, and identity.
A Legacy of Artistic Evolution
Since 1981, the Standard Bank Young Artist Awards have been a launching pad for over 180 creatives - including icons like William Kentridge and Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi. This year’s winners stand firmly in that lineage, even as they reach beyond it.
“These artists aren’t just reflecting the world - they’re reimagining it,” says Bonga Sebesho, Standard Bank’s Group Head of Sponsorship. “We’re honoured to support their journeys and the future they represent for South African art.”
A Home for Visionaries
Each awardee receives financial support, mentorship, and the invaluable platform of the National Arts Festival in Makhanda, where their work will be showcased to global audiences. For Monica Newton, CEO of the festival, the SBYA is a celebration of possibility, “These awards continue to ignite the future of South African arts by celebrating visionary talent and inspiring new creative possibilities.”
These six artists are the caretakers of South Africa’s creative soil, planting seeds that will bloom in galleries, stages, and hearts across the world.
