South Africa
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The South African division was established in 2017, pulling focus on the unity of women, LGBTQ+ and GNC individuals within the music, art, design and creative industries. The necessity of this network has been highlighted not only to empower members but to impart much needed knowledge and experience on new generations of artists, managers and agents who may not have access to all the resources they need.
Past Events & Initiatives
ALL ACCESS
ALL ACCESS is a training programme designed specifically for women and gender minorities in the music industry. Our mission is to break down barriers and provide equal opportunities for all members to advance their careers in specialised roles.
Through sharing knowledge, networking, and access to employment opportunities, we support a select group of budding professionals to achieve success in their field. Our goal is to harness creativity, develop leadership skills, and connect participants to the tools that can help them level up their careers.
The first iteration of ALL ACCESS was an event production training programme in partnership with Steyn Entertainment who contributed funding in 2023 towards the programme.
A call out on social media received over 100 applications, a short list was created after which we hosted a series of online video interviews. The final cohort of 10 were selected for the training period. During this period they were each provided with a per diem/ stipend in order to attend workshops, lectures and a work experience day. Their activities and work were assessed and graded to inform who would be selected for a 3-month work placement.
We placed the Top 3 cohort members with industry partners and subsidized their honorariums for 3 months. We were able to extend funding for 1 of the cohort for an additional 2 months after which she was employed permanently in that position.
OASIS 2022 | 2023 | 2024
The shesaid.so South Africa OASIS
A safe and welcoming space for women and LGBTQI+ event or festival-goers
The shesaid.so South Africa OASIS is a campsite dedicated to women and LGBTQI+ event or festival-goers. It's a place for authentic self-expression, embracing your community, and sharing experiences. Most importantly, it's a comfortable, clean, and calm sanctuary within the event or festival grounds.
While safety is a priority, the OASIS is focused on nurturing an environment that encourages a sense of belonging by building a community of like-minded and welcoming party people.
AT FESTIVALS:
The campsite features:
An activation area with activities like early morning yoga, panel discussions, artist meet-and-greets, and more.
A dedicated bar, serviced toilets and showers, and a changeroom.
Additional perks from brand partners, such as charging stations, glam/make-up stations, and goodie bags.
Security:
The campsite security officials are briefed on the OASIS and its residents so that our vision for the campsite can be delivered efficiently. The shesaid.so South Africa team will be present in the campsite for the duration of the daytime arrivals and activities and will be known to all campers in case you need assistance finding your friends, setting up your tent, or anything else we can assist with.
AT EVENTS:
Our team works in tandem with the main event welfare officers to creative a supportive and safety conscious environment for women and LGBTQI+ event attendees.
Our setup and offering includes:
Charging stations
Free menstrual products
Free water
Calm place to chill if you’re feeling overwhelmed
Needles and thread for wardrobe malfunctions
Hand sanitizer, wet wipes etc
Escorts to assist while waiting for Ubers
We activated the OASIS as follows:
2022 - Concept launched at Rocking the Daisies music festival. The campsite hosted approximately 1000 pax and the feedback was phenomenal.
2023 - Rocking the Daisies - the festival capacity was lower due to a weather enforced date change, our campsite hosted approximately 400pax
2024 - Ballantines x Boiler Room 10 Years of True Music. We hosted an area within the event Marketplace in support of the main Welfare Team. The feedback on our presence was incredibly positive. The event had approximately 2000 pax attendance.
We parted ways with Rocking the Daisies after the 2023 event due to the festival no longer aligning with the sssSA values.
REFORM RADIO GRANT PROGRAMME 2022
Reform Radio and shesaid.so South Africa developed a sixth month Music Production and Online Radio training programme with South African producer and label owner Rose Bonica to uplift Women and LGBTQIA+ producers and musicians from underserved communities in the Western Cape of South Africa.
During the process, four of the most promising new artists were selected to take part in the 2022 iteration of Reform Radio's Remote Rhythm Lab concept. Each producer was paired with an artist from Manchester to collaborate on a brand new piece of music, released later alongside short documentaries on Reform's record label Rhythm Lab Records. All artists were announced via one off radio shows, broadcast on Earth Day 2022.
From April - September 2022 our cohort attended weekly sessions either online or in person where our team and various experts hosted workshops, lectures and demo’s covering the fundamentals of music production, radio show production, music business and eventing.
Rose Bonica’s Roses Are Red label released a collaborative EP along with 3 of the cohort who had not been selected for the Rhythm Lab EP.
Our funding was significant enough that each member of the cohort could receive a per diem for the duration of the programme and we were able to give each of them a set of studio headphones and a midi controller to support their production journey.
We hosted an Earth Day takeover on Reform Radio in partnership with The Other Radio from Cape Town on 22 April 2022 (write ups below):
Rose Bonica x sssSA x Reform Radio Grant Programme Take Over Show
In this show, we get a taste of Rose Bonica's live set with the debut live performance of her lockdown EP, learn about the Collaborative Grant Programme, meet the trainees and explore the women in South African music who shaped the landscape of how we make music today,
Show tags: House, Techno, Electronica, New Club, African
Zara Julius – Charter Flights
Bio: Zara Julius is a multidisciplinary artist, researcher and vinyl collector and selector based mostly in Johannesburg. Charter Flights is her selection of flights and feelings through different geographies and temporal realities throughout the global south and beyond. Let's fly as far as we can! Thoughts around South African isolation from the continent at large and the silo thoughts they experience. Tracks by Malouma (Mauritania), Yunis (Egypt), Chab Aurabi, El Foukr R’Assembly (Algeria) and Erasmo Khalos.
Genres: Jazz, Rare Groove, African
IG: @zarathustra_lives
Tzara – Lucky Packet
Bio: Tara Boraine, aka TZARA, is a multidisciplinary composer/producer from Cape Town, South Africa. Lucky Packet is literally a mixed bag of treats spanning epochs, genres, and moods that inspire her own music. You never quite know what you’re going to get.
Genres: Ambient, Electronica, Alt-Pop, Funk
IG: @tzara_brain
And finally, we hosted a series of public access workshops both online and in-person which allowed us to have further reach in terms of community investment and general education. This was our first grant funded initiative and the learnings have been applied throughout our work and programming since.
IWD JOB SHADOW DAY 2025
The shesaid.so South Africa team reached out to our industry peers to partner on facilitating a Job Shadow Day in JHB and CPT for women between the ages of 19 and 23 years old who have an interest in working in the music industry and would benefit from a 1-day job shadow experience in the industry.
The day took place between Monday 3 March - Monday 10 March 2025. The host volunteered their time for the day, shesaid.so South Africa paid each candidate a per diem to cover their transport and refreshments for the day. 8 women were placed in a Job Shadow.
Our partners:
YFM
Spotify Africa
Africori
Aloe Aloe Music
Quiet Life Co
Creative Wednesdays
Zethu Gqola
We are currently gathering feedback and content from this project.
South Africa Team
