Dimakatso Motholo is the Holder at The Centre for the Less Good Idea.

Born in the Free State and growing up in Johannesburg’s East Rand, Motholo’s early engagements with the arts came by way of performance when she motivated for the inclusion of drama lessons at her high school, subsequently seeing her form part of the first group of students to take drama as a formalised subject at the school. Following a degree in the dramatic arts specialising in arts management from the University of Witwatersrand, Motholo worked with a number of arts institutions and organisations with a keen interest in working from a place of advocacy and learning how the South African arts industry could function to serve the artist. Motholo has subsequently obtained her Masters in Cultural Policy and Management, and currently works as a part-time researcher in addition to her work for The Centre.

A chance meeting at The Market Theatre with lighting designer Wesley France saw Motholo being introduced to The Centre for the Less Good Idea where she went on to work as a stage manager for Seasons 1, 4, and 5. Since then, she has worked as administrator and resident stage manager for The Centre before moving into her current role of Project Manager.

For Motholo, The Centre sees her occupying a hybrid position located between administration and person-orientated work. Liaising with artists and production, overseeing the various physical spaces at The Centre, and working to ensure that processes run smoothly for production teams, curators, and collaborators alike are a few of the daily roles she occupies.

Being able to work in an experimental incubator space for the arts with a non-hierarchical and organically orientated system of people allows her to both inform and learn from the way the space is run, while her background in performance affords her greater insight into the nature of generating and producing creative work. Above all else, it is the inherent experimental and process-orientated nature of The Centre that resonates with Motholo’s own creative methodology – the act of learning and producing through doing.

PHOTOGRAPHER | Zivanai Matangi