Two young artists from Limpopo have been awarded R300,000 scholarships to pursue their dreams in the arts. Lethabo July Boshomane, 23, a digital artist from Sekgakgapeng near Mokopane, and Nhlawuleke Asher Shileng, 19, an aspiring opera singer from Ngove near Giyani, emerged as winners of the 2026 Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Nyoloha scholarships. The winners were announced at the MTN Innovation Centre in Johannesburg on October 31.
Boshomane, who won the visual and digital arts scholarship, plans to study game design and production and then complete her honours. She has been drawing since childhood but initially considered a career in medicine due to her good maths and science marks. However, with the support of her mother, Linah, she pursued her passion for art. Her mother bought her a laptop, and her older sister provided a drawing tablet, which helped her build her skills through freelancing, volunteering, and online training.
Boshomane's work focuses on telling the stories of black women, which she believes is essential for South Africa. Her first exhibition, at the Polokwane Art Museum for the scholarship finals, told the story of Mmathabo, a woman outgrowing a marriage to a violent, domineering husband. She said that South Africa needs artists who express the narrative of black kids and black women. The scholarship has boosted her confidence, and she now believes that her capabilities are at a national level.
Shileng, the performing arts winner, has ambitious plans to build an opera house in Giyani, where others can discover and perform the music that captivated him. His introduction to opera came through a school choir competition in 2024, where he was handed an Italian song. He found it easy and then heard the opera solo category, which he decided to pursue in 2025. Despite initial doubts and laughter from people in his area, he continued to dream big.
Shileng spent six months learning Largo al factotum, using ChatGPT to help with Italian pronunciation. He filmed himself on his phone to improve his performances, practising his acting and dancing too. The scholarship finals took him inside a theatre for the first time, and it was mentorship that helped him tackle self-doubt. Now, he wants to study music at Nelson Mandela University, despite never having had formal music lessons and still needing to learn to read music.
The university's coastal location has its own appeal for Shileng, who had a wonderful experience on a primary school church trip to Gqeberha. He saw the ocean for the first time and had an incredible feeling that he wants to be in that place and around the ocean. For a while, he imagined becoming a marine biologist, but then opera intervened. With the scholarship, his dream can come true: to study opera at Mandela University and experience the ocean breeze.
The two winners were selected from 60 young artists who underwent four months of mentorship and training, with 11 reaching the finals. The ACT Nyoloha scholarships aim to support young artists in pursuing their education and careers in the arts. Boshomane and Shileng's stories demonstrate the impact of the scholarship on their lives and their passion for their craft.
Key points
- Lethabo July Boshomane and Nhlawuleke Asher Shileng win R300,000 scholarships to pursue their dreams in the arts.
- The winners were selected from 60 young artists who underwent four months of mentorship and training.
- The scholarships will enable Boshomane and Shileng to study game design and production and music, respectively.
