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11 September 2026
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Story Leonie Bolleurs
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Photo Supplied
Crystal Donna Roberts, award-winning actress and UFS alumna, whose legacy in theatre, television, and film is honoured through a bursary supporting postgraduate study in the arts.
Crystal Donna Roberts left an enduring mark on South African theatre, television, and film. Now, her legacy will help create opportunities for the next generation of artists through a new postgraduate bursary established in her name.
Applications are open for the Crystal Donna Roberts Bursary, which will support a postgraduate student in the Faculty of The Humanities at the University of the Free State (UFS) pursuing an arts-related qualification. Established in partnership with the Vrystaat Arts Festival, the bursary honours the acclaimed actress and UFS alumna by investing in emerging creative talent.
Audiences have come to know Roberts through her remarkable range – from Romeo & Juliet: Unplugged on stage to Janice Cupido in the long-running telenovela Arendsvlei, and her award-winning performance in Krotoa. Her work earned recognition at the South African Film and Television Awards and a nomination at the Venice International Film Festival. She studied drama and theatre arts at the UFS before becoming one of South Africa's most respected performers.
Investing in the next generation
The bursary is awarded based on merit and financial need. Applicants are assessed on their academic potential, motivation, achievements, and intended contribution to the arts, while the financial barriers that often prevent talented students from continuing their studies are also taken into consideration.
The opportunity is open to current and prospective postgraduate students in arts-related disciplines within the Faculty of The Humanities. Applicants from outside the UFS may also apply, provided they meet the admission requirements for a postgraduate programme and can provide proof that they have applied for, or have been accepted into such a programme.
"A legacy, if it is to mean anything, cannot live only in remembrance; it must create possibility. Crystal Donna Roberts gave us a body of work marked by courage, intelligence, and an extraordinary generosity of spirit. This bursary allows her name to continue doing what her art did – opening a space in which another voice might emerge, another imagination might be taken seriously, and another artist might become possible. That, for me, is the most meaningful form of remembrance: not simply looking back at what was lost but investing deliberately in what may yet come."
Applications open
Applications opened on 4 August 2026 and will close on 30 September 2026. The successful applicant will be announced on 13 October 2026, which would have been Crystal Donna Roberts' birthday.
Applications must be submitted through the official online application form available on the Vrystaat Arts Festival
website. Late applications will not be considered.
For one postgraduate student, the bursary will open the door to further study. For the wider arts community, it ensures that Crystal Donna Roberts' legacy continues to create opportunities for new talent and inspire future generations of artists.