KEISKAMMA ART PROJECT
HAMBURG
EASTERN CAPE
SOUTH AFRICA
About the Keiskamma Art Project & KeiskammaTrust
SUMMARY
The Keiskamma Art Project is part of the greater Keiskamma Trust, a South African not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the holistic care of the communities that live in the area alongside the Keiskamma River in the Eastern Cape.
The Project was founded by a fine artist and medical doctor, Dr Carol Hofmeyr, in 2000. She had a restorative vision to use art as a medium for healing, archiving, and community care while also creating sustainable livelihoods through dignified work in a historically ignored community.
Over the years, the Keiskamma Art Project has facilitated the creation of a vast number of treasured artworks. The artworks, and the process of creating them, act as a way of archiving the Eastern Cape rural collective memory and preserving oral history.
“I have always been amazed and astonished at how much work they have generated over twenty years. Through thick and thin they have produced some of the world’s most important artworks – in scale and meaning,” says Pippa Hetherington, a South African photographer and visual artist who has known the artists and the Project since its inception.
The Keiskamma Art Project aims to use art as a tool for healing and an inquiry into shared humanity and pain. In sharing and creating together, while uncovering and reinterpreting their own stories, the people of Hamburg are able to rewrite their cultural and historical narratives – for and by themselves. “Since the artworks are made in community, there is lots of sharing of experiences, both positive and painful. Working as a collective can provide a platform of visibility and support,” says Pippa.
For the entire article by Stella Hertantyo from which this summary was taken please go here:
https://editorial.latitudes.online/blog/posts/the-keiskamma-art-project/
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ALL ABOUT THE KEISKAMMA ART PROJECT:
https://keiskammaartproject.org
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ABOUT THE GUERNICA REMAKINGS IN SOUTH AFRICA - 2017
Dr Nicola Ashmore first visited South Africa in 2015, to meet the Keiskamma Art Project, where she interviewed those involved in the creation of the 2010 Keiskamma Guernica. Two years on the fifth, small scale Keiskamma Guernica was commissioned in 2017 and its creation documented, featuring the makers. For the full feature on this remarkable process please go here:
https://guernicaremakings.com/exhibition-2017/about-guernica-remakings-south-africa/
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WOMAN OF THE YEAR - DR. CAROL HOFMEYR ........ A South African Hero
An Overview of Dr. Carol Hofmeyr's vision and her establishment & development of the Keiskamma Trust and Art Project. Please go here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCJMYPF3S90
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HAMBURG CHARACTERS
Susan Palisa - An amazing woman who lives in Hamburg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcNZ_H362kc
Vuyisile Gaba - Dune Artist who lives in Hamburg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2EUlhs3lFE&t=14s
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GETAWAY ARTICLE ON HAMBURG - Andy Hofmeyr
https://www.getaway.co.za/destinations/hamburg-one-crazy-little-village/
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UMLIBO - A CLIMATE ADVOCACY TAPESTRY - LAUNCHED 4th OCTOBER 2023
This particular initiative was the brainchild of a few people which developed out of the 2000 establishment of the Keiskamma Trust by its founder, Dr.Carol Hofmeyr, but which was driven by Curator & Project Manager Michaela Howse, along with the help of the WWF and the Flanders “State of the Art” group who funded this amazing project.
INTRODUCTION
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC4tUOwnXEQ
LAUNCH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKeT0wzSSF8&t=26s
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NEWSLETTER
ON MAY 1ST 2024 MICHAELA HOWSE SENT OUT A NEWSLETTER REMINDING US OF THE NEED TO ADDRESS THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF PEOPLE WHO WORK CONSISTENTLY & DEVOTEDLY FOR ORGANISATIONS AND COMPANIES. PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINKS BELOW TO VIEW:
THE KEISKAMMA ART PROJECT IN REVIEW:
https://keiskamma.org/2024/04/keiskamma-art-project-in-review-reflections-on-four-years-since-covid/
SOME PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS SINCE 2020:
https://keiskamma.org/project-highlights-since-2020/
A RESPONSE TO THE KEISKAMMA COVID RESILIENCE TAPESTRY
https://keiskamma.org/2024/04/a-response-to-the-keiskamma-covid-resilience-tapestry/
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HUGE TAPESTRIES TELL THE STORY OF A SOUTH AFRICAN TOWN - ONE MASTERPIECE AT A TIME
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THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF SOUTH-AFRICA'S LITTLE-KNOWN KEISKAMMA TAPESTRY
A fire at the South African Parliament has brought an artistic masterpiece to light
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DYING & RISING AS THE MOON DOES
Celebrating 20 Years of the Keiskamma Artists' Collective
Twenty years ago, a group of women in a remote Eastern Cape village in South Africa called Hamburg, began stitching artworks as a way of staving off poverty. This became known as the Keiskamma Art Project after the Keiskamma River which flows into the Indian Ocean in an estuary near the village. From their first exhibition, Vuselela, meaning ‘restoration’ in Xhosa, to iconic artworks such as the 3m x 6m, multi- paneled Keiskamma Altarpiece; the life-size rendition of Picasso’s Guernica; and a 120m long tapestry that sits in Parliament in South Africa, this artist collective have produced dozens of prolific pieces which are recognised for their place in art history on the African continent and in the international art community. The works cut deeply into the fabric of a community scarred by poverty, political turmoil and the story of HIV/AIDS.
https://keiskammaartproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/PDF-exhibition-052022.pdf
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KEISKAMMA ART PROJECT RETROSPECTIVE
All the beautiful Tapestries together in one place
From the rural Eastern Cape town of Hamburg to the world’s galleries and collections –and now back home, for all to see and admire! The Keiskamma Art Project is an extraordinary example of community upliftment and creating #BetterFutures through the arts . Now, for the first time ever, all the beautiful embroidered tapestries made by the Keiskamma crafters over the past two decades are being exhibited in one place –Constitution Hill . This gargantuan feat of logistics –from careful packing of the gigantic tapestries to transporting them from locales around the world –was made possible through Hollard, a passionate supporter of the arts .This Keiskamma retrospective exhibition titled “Umaf’ Evuka, njeNgenyanga/Dying and Rising, As the Moon Does” was at Constitution Hill until March 2023. PLEASE NOTE: The Dr.Baker referred to is Dr.Carol Hofmeyr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzAqIByzkII&t=8s
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AARTVARK GALLERY - Kalk Bay - Cape Town
Contemporary Art Gallery - Keiskamma Art Trust - Available Work
https://www.artvark.org/keiskamma
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