Grobler has made Oudtshoorn her home for more than three years and is well-acquainted with the KKNK’s audiences and activities. She was the KKNK Festival Artist in 2023 and her exhibition, Inkommers, laatkommers & laatlammers, as well as her Droom installation in collaboration with the Oudtshoorn ReWOLusie, won her the Kanna Award for Best Visual Arts Presentation. She was also the first curator of visual arts for Klein Karoo Klassique in 2022.
She takes over the reins from Dr Dineke Orton, who was the visual arts curator of the KKNK from 2020 until 2024.
“Liza is a remarkable artist and exceptional curator. Furthermore, it is wonderful that she is based in Oudtshoorn, the hometown of the KKNK. It is also exciting that she draws inspiration from the region and that this plays a role in the composition of the visual arts offered at the festival. She has a wonderful sense of collaboration and an ability to inspire other artists. We are excited about this journey with her as curator over the next three years and to see her vision for the arts at the KKNK unfold,” says Hugo Theart, CEO and Artistic Director of the festival.
Grobler says that she is excited for the opportunity to compile the visuals arts programme of the KKNK over the next three years. “First and foremost, I want to create an offering that takes every participating artist’s specific needs and process into account, so that everyone can create freely within an overarching theme. In this way, a single work can enter a conversation with another work and hopefully in this way, it becomes a landscape of visual conversations.”
For her, it is important that the exhibition in its entirety is directed from the Karoo, but this does not mean it is only specific to the region, but rather that the space of the Karoo is the centre around which everything revolves. “It is a space full of natural beauty, stories and miracles. Therefore, the Karoo is the muse, but the participants are from across the country, even with a few international contributions.”
“Secondly the offer must be a type of journey of discovery for the spectator, which leaves them with a degree of wonder. It is not only necessary that the works are appealing to a wide variety of festivalgoers, but also to local residents. It is important that there are monumental and serious works that make you think, as well as affordable work, colourful work and contributions from new voices. My aim is to turn the layout and hierarchy of materials on its, but without sacrificing on the quality.”
The multi award-winning artist Henk Serfontein is the Festival Artist for the KKNK in 2025. Festivalgoers at the KKNK can view his artworks as part of a solo exhibition titled, Die stomme aarde.
Furthermore, Grobler says that there are wonderful community projects in the Karoo and that there is a strong presence of these projects as part of her visual arts programme. “For this exact reason Henk and the wonderful Bloekomboom Project, in collaboration with Hannah Loewenthal, is the natural choice for this adventure,” she concludes.
Grobler has curated various medium to small exhibitions and has been invited to the Oriental International Art Biennale in Bangladesh, taking place in 2025. Her exhibitions include solo exhibitions in South Africa, Finland and Belgium, as well as various international art fairs, site-specific projects and group exhibitions. She is represented by Everard Read Galleries in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Franschhoek and London.
The 29th KKNK, sponsored by Absa, is presented in Oudtshoorn from Tuesday 1 to Sunday 6 April 2025. For more information, visit kknk.co.za or contact 044 203 8600, info@kknk.co.za or send a WhatsApp to 065 285 2337.
Photos: Liza Grobler is the new Visual Arts Curator of the KKNK. Photos taken by Hans van der Veen