Fakugesi 2022 Awards for Digital Creativity
Story Posted: 17 August 2022
Categories: Awards
The inaugural Fak’ugesi 2022 Awards for Digital Creativity are the first awards of their kind, recognising digital innovation in creativity across the countries of Africa. Since our inception 9 years ago we have seen, worked with, and applauded the meteoric rise of African creativity in the digital space. In 2022, we want to further this growth by awarding the best works in five categories: arts (visual, performance), animation, music, video games, and extended reality (AR, VR).
The Fak’ugesi Awards trophies are unique representations of the spark of innovation, our iconic lightning bolt motif comes to life at dusk with an internal led light array.
Announcing our Winners for 2022:
This year’s award winners encapsulated the Fak’ugesi ideology, as well as best interpreting the 2022 ‘From Now On’ theme. The Awards criteria called for a critical awakening of what digital creativity is for young Africans, and this year’s gifted applicants showed us just how far young talent has come. Keep an eye out for these rising stars in the following categories which are leading the future of African digital creative innovation:
Video Gaming
Winner: Finke Desert Race Game by Arkitech Consultancy Limited (Kenya)
Rising Star: Doba Dasha by SpaceSalad Studios (South Africa)
Judge: Hugo Obi
Animation
Winner: Super Dad by Magic Carpet Studios (Nigeria)
Rising Star: Kua by The Animation School (PTY) Ltd. (South Africa)
Judge: Isaac Mogajane
Judge’s commentary: These greatly entertaining, winning entries boasted beautifully creative storytelling. Super Dad is a heart-warming short film that does a great job of balancing heart, comedy, and excellent production value. The bright and cheery animation style, character designs and environments are well crafted to tell a story that is bursting with
life and colour that will resonate globally. Kua is a beautifully directed and animated film that tells a heartfelt story that took us on a fulfilling emotional journey. Special mention must be made of the high technical quality that
the artists were able to achieve across all aspects of the film.
XR
VR Winner: The Subterranean Imprint Archive by Lo-Def Film Factory (South Africa)
AR Winner: Re/Member Your Descendants by Xabiso Vili & Sonwabo Valashiya (South
Africa)
Judge: Ingrid Kopp
Judge’s Commentary: These winning entries created powerful experiences both in the virtual and augmented reality categories. The Subterranean Imprint Archive explored Africa’s technological “progress” in a layered and playful way. It stood out with its collaborative, co-creative process, rooted in community, in the making of the work itself. Re/Member Your Descendants combined super cool illustrations, music, and poetry in a manner that brought to life a new kind of folk tale for our times.
Digital Art
Graphic Digital Art Winner: UMTHWALO – Own you crown by Von Mash (South Africa)
Conceptual Digital Art Winner: Dintho by m'lk (South Africa)
Judge: Jepchumba
Judge’s Commentary: Umthwalo is a unique and visually stunning dialogue that opens up new collaborative opportunities for AR and visual digital art by masterfully threading digital art with storytelling around culture and identity. Dintho gives visibility to important African digital cultural products and artefacts. This project is a springboard to much-needed digital archive collectives that will serve as an important example of providing African cultural sites in these digital worlds.
Music
Cross-Sector Score Winner: Halima’s Vote (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Rodney Abia (Nigeria)
Cross-Sector Sound Art Winner: Air by Hakeem Adam (Ghana)
Judge: Nonku Phiri
Judge’s Commentary: Enchanting! Halima’s Vote, with its combination of modern and traditional (musical) elements that positively added to the sonic interpretation, was accessible & informative – a positively transformative tale for younger audiences. Ghana Airways creates an immersive world, beautifully layered in its generous playful exploration of
memory & sound.
Congratulations and thank you
The festival organisers wish to congratulate the winners, entrants and participants, and team who make the festival possible. Thanks go out to attendees, speakers, presenters, and the press. The success of the Fak’ugesi Festival 2022 is made possible by the engagement and involvement of its supporters, partners, and funders, the Tshimologong Precinct and WITS Digital Arts. Well done to everyone involved.
Until 2023…
Winners
Nominees
The Jury:
Selecting the best in the digital space from across the continent requires an outstanding jury of peers who have already developed their careers in their respective fields.
- Tegan Bristow (Chairperson)
Dr. Tegan Bristow is Researcher & Senior Lecturer at the Wits School of the Arts. Bristow additionally acts as Editor in Chief and Digital Editor of the Ellipses Journal for Creative Research. Bristow directed the Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival from 2016 to 2020 and now works closely between Fak’ugesi Festival and the Wits School of Arts developing research on the Digital Creative Industries in Africa.
- Hugo Obi (Video Games, Nigeria)
Hugo Obi is the founder of Maliyo Games; a design studio known for developing African-inspired games for mobile devices. He is a pioneer in his field, having created gaming classics like Mosquito Smasher, Okada Rider, Aboki Run, and Whot King.
- Isaac Mogajane (Animation, South Africa)
Producer. Diprente. Isaac is a co-founder of and director at Diprente, a South African production company based in Johannesburg. Since 2009, Diprente has produced numerous feature films including the box office hit, “Matwetwe (Wizard)” and the Netflix Original “Catching Feelings”.
- Jepchumba (Arts, Kenya)
Jepchumba has been listed by Forbes as one of the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa 2012 and in the Guardian Africa’s Top 25 Women Achievers. A cultural ambassador, Jepchumba is the Founder and Creative Director of African Digital Art, a collective and creative space where digital artists, enthusiasts and professionals can seek inspiration, showcase their artistry and connect with emerging artists. Jepchumba is dedicated to promoting the growth of creative technology in Africa.
- Nonku Phiri (Music, South Africa)
Nonku Phiri is a Johannesburg-based vocalist and songwriter. Her music blends contemporary production styles with vintage Afropop influences, such as Kwaito, as well as drawing inspiration from oral folk tradition.
- Ingrid Kopp (XR, South Africa)
Ingrid Kopp is a co-founder of Electric South in South Africa, a non-profit organisation working with interdisciplinary artists across Africa to develop, produce and distribute immersive work. In this role, she produces and facilitates an annual residential lab, and is an executive producer on award-winning VR projects, including The Other Dakar, Le Lac, Azibuye – The Occupation, and Container. Along with MIT’s Open DocLab and Dot Connector Studio, she produces Immerse, a monthly publication on emerging nonfiction storytelling. She is co-chair of the World Economic Forum Global Council on Virtual and Augmented Reality. Until 2020 Ingrid curated the Tribeca Storyscapes programme for interactive and immersive work at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Judging Process
Each project will be reviewed by two selection panel members who will develop a shortlist of 10 projects per category for the jury to evaluate.
All the winning projects have been announced at a special Fak’ugesi Awards ceremony on 21 October 2022 followed by the closing party of Fak’ugesi Festival.
Requirements:
- Applicants need to be 18 years or older
- The work must be their own
- Applicants must have a fully completed project (Material/Project must have been shown publicly)
- All submissions in which intellectual property rights are jointly owned must be submitted with the full written consent of all rights holders concerned.
- An application must be made in one category
- Open to all individuals/ companies who wish to apply.
- Projects that are created from 2019 to the present.
Eligible formats for each category:
Animation
Short films (duration not more than 5 min)
Longer length features (30 min and above)
Title Animations
Gaming
Mobile
Desktop
XR
AR
VRImmersive
Digital Art
Digital Film
Photography and digital manipulation
Performance with digital components
Screen-based digital art
Digital Cross-Sector Music & Composition
Composers linked to animation, gaming, XR, and digital arts
Applications are now closed
All materials/project(s) must be submitted online before 21 September 2022, 23:59 GMT. Late applications will not be considered.
Nominations are now closed:
Should you know of a project which you think fits the awards criteria, you may nominate a project through our nomination form.
Nominations must be submitted online before 17 September 2022, 23:59 GMT to allow us time to communicate with the nominated project.
FAQ
Can I apply individually?
- Yes, you can apply as an individual, company or team.
Do you hold an event that we need to attend to receive an award?
- The Fak’ugesi Award winners will be honoured at the Fak’ugesi Award ceremony on 21 October 2022. Finalists will be invited to the awards, though we are not able to cover transportation or accommodation costs.
What do I get if I win an award?
- The winner will receive a trophy. The Fak’ugesi Awards trophy is a unique representation of the spark of innovation, our iconic lightning bolt motif comes to life at dusk with an internal led light array. We will reveal more information other prizes later in September.
Where do I enter?
- To enter, please click on the Apply Now button below. Applications via any other format will not be accepted.
Is there any cost for the application?
- No, there is no cost for the application.
- Applications are free!
Can I enter my work in more than one category?
- Applications may only be submitted under one category, please choose the most relevant artform for the application.
How many submissions can be made for the same individual or organisation?
- Each individual or organisation is allowed to submit one application into one category.
What happens after I submit?
- Each project will be reviewed by two selection panel members who will develop a shortlist of 10 projects per category for the jury to evaluate.
- We will announce five finalists from each category on 3 October 2022. The winning projects will be announced at a special Fak’ugesi Awards ceremony on 21 October 2022 followed by the closing party of Fak’ugesi Festival.
Who receives the prize if the winning project is the result of a collaboration between more than one company?
- The team lead/applicant will receive the Fak’ugesi Award Trophy on behalf of the whole team or organisation.
