MTN Bushfire Festival co-Founding Director Jiggs Thorne and Eswatini Theatre Club Vice-Chairperson Sizo Hlophe will represent the country at Africa’s biggest music market, ACCES 2026, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The two will participate in Live Arts Lab (LAL.3) on October 28, a session organised in partnership with the Music In Africa Foundation’s ACCES conference, IKS Cultural Consulting and the German Commission for UNESCO.
Meanwhile, MTN Bushfire Firefly Project Manager Penny Bouwer will speak at the main ACCES conference on October 29 and 30, joining more than 60 music industry figures from around the world.
The different engagements will provide platforms for the three creative industry professionals to contribute to discussions and exchanges within the African music and cultural sectors.
Live Arts Lab will bring together 32 thought leaders to explore the relationship between live music and local development, focusing on one of the eight principles of the Fair Culture Charter.
Discussions will cover local development, sustainable creative markets, skills transfer and long-term collaborations. Participants will include professionals from several African countries, among them South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Nigeria, Mozambique, Egypt, Zambia, Mauritius and Canada.
Hlophe said his participation in the session was particularly meaningful because he had been part of the first group consulted during the drafting of the German Commission for UNESCO’s Fair Culture Charter.
The group was named Young Experts for Fair Culture and comprised emerging professionals, researchers and cultural practitioners who contributed to shaping the Fair Culture Initiative and Charter.
“To me, this comes full circle. I’m excited to join this group and some of my heroes to reflect on some of the work UNESCO has done over the years and to look at the wins and failures,” Hlophe said.
He added that cultural policy was also being shaped through everyday work, whether or not formal enforcement mechanisms were in place.
Hlophe is involved in the rejuvenation of the country’s oldest theatre and cultural institution, the Eswatini Theatre Club. He also co-founded Antidote Music and the Antidote Culture Foundation.
Thorne brings nearly three decades of experience in festivals, creative networks and arts mobility. He is also the Co-Founding Director of House On Fire and the Standard Bank Luju Food & Lifestyle Festival, and founded IGODA and the Arts Incubator Corridor.
Bouwer, meanwhile, works across social media consultancy, artist management, creative arts project development and social entrepreneurship. Her participation at the main ACCES conference will place her among international music industry professionals sharing knowledge and exploring opportunities for collaboration.
Earlier this year, Bouwer secured a seat on the Basadi in Music Awards Advisory Board, which includes South African music icon Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Dr Linah Ngcobo.
ACCES is a pan-African music industry conference organised by the Music In Africa Foundation. It provides a platform for music professionals to network, exchange knowledge, showcase and discover talent, and explore opportunities to grow the sector.
The 2026 conference will take place on October 29 and 30 at The Forum, The Campus, in Bryanston, Johannesburg. Previous editions have been hosted in Dakar, Nairobi, Accra, Johannesburg, Dar es Salaam and Kigali.
