The Kuru Art Project

This exhibit is now over. The prices, dates, places and external hyperlinks on this page are not maintained and may no longer be accurate.

Deep in the Kalahari desert a group of San artists relive their ancient past when the desert was endless and game and food abundant. They revive it in strong forms and vibrant colours and express it in a yearning for better days that are forever gone. But also they show to their own people and to the world that they are still the "First People", not about to disappear or become assimilated. They are searching for their own (artistic) place in this new world order in which their land is all but lost, food is scarce and the thrill of the hunt is rare.

Within one decade this collective of artists became renowned. A remarkable development which started in 1990 when a group of the San people , living in D'Kar in the western Kalahari, went on excursion to the Tsodilo Hills in Northern Botswana, a group of hills famous for its rock paintings by the San people. They were so excited to see the art of their ancestors, that they too wanted to start painting.

A workshop for fabric painting was organized. Two of the nicest cloths were sent to Gaborone (capital of Botswana) for an exhibition at the National Art Gallery. The gallery promptly bought these cloths for their permanent collection.

Within three years enormous progress was made. The artists became involved in painting, graphics, such as lino print, silkscreen, murals, etc.
Initially the artists painted with acrylics on fabric and board. Today they prefer working with oil paints on stretched canvases.
The number of artists involved in the Art Project fluctuated through the years between 12 and 17, 6 of them are female. Although there is occasionally a crossover in terms of subject matter it seems that the artists prefer to follow the traditional division of labour and life experience in their artwork. The women concentrate largely on depicting food, people, birds, beadwork and items of clothing and jewellery. The men focus on depicting animals, mythical creatures and people.

The contemporary paintings by the San artists have become world-wide famous. Exhibitions were organized in Poland, Finland, The Netherlands, Norway, England, the USA, Canada, South Africa, Namibia, Germany, Australia, Sweden and of course in their homeland Botswana. They won many national and international awards both collectively and individually. The San paintings and prints are found in private and public collections throughout the world.

The paintings are all for sale and are hanging in the corridors and the library of the African Studies Centre in the Pieter de la Court building, Wassenaarseweg 52 in Leiden. The exhibition is open weekdays from 9:00 – 17:00 from 18 July 2008 until 23 September 2008. Feel free to come and take a look.

Check out the website of the Kalahari Support Group.

Four warthogs (€ 150, frame included)	Puff adders (€ 290)
Flying ants and their holes (€ 105, frame included)	Legend bird and creatures (€ 130, frame included)