About Us
MITCHELL'S PLAIN MUSIC ACADEMY HISTORY
Mitchell’s Plain Music Academy NPC (MPMA) is a non-profit community arts institution advancing equitable access to arts education, creative skills development, and pathways into the cultural and creative economy.
Founded in 2013 in Mitchell’s Plain on the Cape Flats, MPMA has grown from a small living-room initiative into a multi-disciplinary creative hub serving disadvantaged and previously disadvantaged communities across Mitchell’s Plain, Kraaifontein, Delft, Khayelitsha, Philippi, Fisantekraal, and surrounding areas.
MPMA delivers accredited music and creative-skills programmes, including instrumental and vocal training, school choir development, Big Band and ensemble programmes, music technology, dance education, and creative-entrepreneurship initiatives. Through structured after-school training, skills-to-employment pathways, and learner-support interventions, the academy contributes to youth development, job creation, and social cohesion.
Aligned with UNESCO principles and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, MPMA positions the arts as essential social and economic infrastructure. From 2026 onwards, the academy aims to double its reach, with a strong focus on youth, women, and skills development—building a resilient, inclusive creative-skills ecosystem rooted in community and excellence.
Welcome to Mitchell's Plain Music Academy
A community-rooted arts and creative-skills institution that has, over the past 12 years, grown into one of the Western Cape’s most consistent and impactful creative-development hubs.
Founded in 2013 in Mitchell’s Plain, MPMA emerged in response to deep inequalities in access to arts education, skills development, and creative-economy participation. What began as a small initiative has since evolved into a multi-programme social-impact organisation operating across Mitchell’s Plain, Kraaifontein, Delft, Khayelitsha, Philippi, Fisantekraal, and surrounding communities—serving predominantly disadvantaged and previously disadvantaged youth, families, and emerging creatives.
Today, MPMA functions not only as a music academy, but as a creative-economy platform and community arts hub. Its programmes span accredited instrumental and vocal training, school choir development, big band and ensemble programmes, music technology and production, dance education, songwriting and composition, live sound engineering, and creative-business skills development. Each programme is designed to move learners from access, to training, to measurable outcomes—whether through qualifications, employment, further study, or professional artistic work.
Central to MPMA’s sustainability and growth has been its strategic partnerships in recent years with key public and private stakeholders, including the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC), the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS), the National Arts Council (NAC), and Betway Cares Foundation. These partnerships have enabled the academy to scale responsibly—supporting infrastructure, educator employment, accredited learning, and access for learners who would otherwise be excluded from the arts ecosystem.
In 2025 alone, MPMA reached over 1,000 youth through its combined programmes and flagship initiatives, including the launch of the Mitchell’s Plain Schools Choir Competition, which brought together multiple schools in a large-scale cultural activation focused on excellence, discipline, and community pride. Alongside this, thousands more were engaged through concerts, workshops, open days, and outreach programmes, while hundreds of thousands were reached through digital platforms and cultural storytelling.
MPMA’s impact is evident in its outcomes: learners progressing into accredited examinations, tertiary music studies, professional performance careers, and creative-economy livelihoods. Alumni have gone on to collaborate with leading South African artists, achieve national radio success, and contribute back into their communities as educators and creatives.
At its core, Mitchell’s Plain Music Academy demonstrates what is possible when long-term vision, strategic partnerships, and community trust converge. It offers a compelling model of how arts and culture—when treated as serious social and economic infrastructure—can drive youth development, job creation, and sustainable creative ecosystems in communities that have historically been left behind.