The finalists in The Arts & Culture Trust Awards 2001, in association with Mail & Guardian and Nedbank have been announced.

Arts Administrator of the Year: Gitanjali Pather, Georgina Thomson, Mike van Graan and Laurie Wapenaar

Arts and Culture Journalist of the Year: Michelle Constant, Robert Greig, Roger Lucey and Mike van Graan.

Media of the Year in Support of the Arts: Artslink.co.za, D'ARTS Magazine, eNews and SAfm. D’ARTS magazine is published by the Durban Arts Association and the editor is Caroline Smart (also artSMart’s editor). D’ARTS won the first ACT award for print publication in 1998 and artslink.co.za won the award for electronic media in the same year. This year the categories have been combined into Media of the Year.

Arts & Culture Publicist of the Year: Juan Els, Illa Thompson, Philip Todres and David Wilson. Durban publicist Illa Thomson and her partner Sharlene Versfeld were joint winners for the 1998 award with the publicist of the Market Theatre.

Cultural Development Project of the Year: Dance Factory, Mineworkers' Development Agency, SA Schools' Festival (Grahamstown Foundation) and Visual Arts & Crafts Academy (VACA)

Arts & Culture Trust Best Practice Project (including Education): Arts Outreach Programme (The Children's Arts Festival), Fordsburg Artists Studios, KOTAZ (Imbizo Arts of South Africa) and Steel Band Project. The Steel Band Foundation was started in Durban by Bryan Clarke and Dobri Paliev as part of the KZN Philharmonic’s outreach programme.

International Arts Sponsor of the Year: Winner to be announced at the awards ceremony

Lifetime Achievement Award: Joyce Levinsohn, Beata Lipman and Elizabeth Sneddon and Percy Tucker. Professor Elizabeth Sneddon is a doyenne of Durban theatre and very few people in the arts have not been touched directly or indirectly by her vigorous support and clear vision.

The winners will be announced at a gala function in Johannesburg on October 11, 2001.