First Luvo Maranti Arts Scholarship Awarded to Bot River Artist Ronaldo Bantom

As the year draws to a close, we are delighted to share some good news from the Abagold Development Trust: the inaugural Luvo Maranti Arts Scholarship has been awarded to Ronaldo Bantom, a self-taught artist from Bot River whose super-realist pencil portraits have already earned him first prize at the annual Greyton Art Walk.

Ronaldo, who lives with his grandmother in Bot River and spent two years working in the art materials section of PNA at Whale Coast Mall, was chosen unanimously from three local applicants. The selection panel included our managing director Tim Hedges, Trust trustee Enver Manchest, musician Louna Stofberg, writer Elaine Davie and Luvo Maranti himself — the South African tenor whose studies at UCT's Opera School were backed by Abagold, and after whom the annual scholarship is named.

The scholarship funds online training courses, software and hardware, and art materials — both for Ronaldo's own development and for outreach work with young people in Bot River. He also joins a community art project in Hawston as a facilitator, and Luvo will mentor him along the way.

Ronaldo hopes his art will one day allow him to "help my parents out of poverty and inspire other young people like myself".

The full story appears on the Abagold Development Trust website. To learn more about the award, visit the Luvo Maranti Scholarship.