The Keiskamma Art Project was initiated by Carol Hofmeyr in 2000 in the village of Hamburg, Eastern Cape. Jan Chalmers (Oxford, UK) and Jacky Jezewski (Brantome, France) helped establish the project. The project’s initial aims were to teach art to the women of the village and provide them with income-generating skills.

At the time, the village of Hamburg, situated in the former “independent” homeland of the Ciskei, was struggling to overcome the effects of both the apartheid system and the changes that followed re-incorporation into South Africa.

Most of the villagers were unemployed and the main sources of income were perlemoen poaching and government grants. There was a high incidence of petty crime and alcoholism and a slow but constant destruction of the once pristine environment. We hope that the project will help address these problems in a small way.

For the past four years the response has been overwhelming, with the villager’s crafts and creative skills earning respect and recognition both locally and internationally.

The Arts Project is currently running very smoothly under the leadership of Nokwanda Makubhalo, Noseti Makubhalo and Caroline Nyongo, who over the years gained confidence and the skills to move up in the project and assume these management roles. Assisting them are Jackie Downs and Tanya Jordaan, young Fine Arts Graduates who work together with the women creating quality art works and improving the quality of life in Hamburg.