Karoo Kaarte

The KKNK’s Karoo Kaarte is an award-winning public participatory storytelling project, founded in 2021, which uses a range of creative (theatre and visual arts) and research methodologies to curate an annual multi-disciplinary arts programme in the town of Oudtshoorn. Karoo Kaarte works to reveal the connections between personal narratives and place and the project’s name references these intersections by playing on the dual meaning of ‘kaarte’ in the Oudtshoorn context. The English translation for ‘kaarte’ is maps and in the local vernacular “om kaarte te sny” refers to hanging out and telling both serious and light-hearted stories. Each of the programs within Karoo Kaarte are designed to provide formative learning spaces and opportunities for upskilling of the participants according to their talents, abilities and interests. Residents collaborating across the many outcomes of the project include visual artists, poets, writers, performers, Indigenous knowledge holders, musicians, researchers, learners, educators and activists. Karoo Kaarte strives to create platforms that foreground local talent, widening the national spotlight to consider artists and performers who have been largely excluded from its reach in the past. The project is an ongoing collaboration facilitated by visual-artist Vaughn Sadie and theatre-maker Neil Coppen and presented by the KKNK. Last year, the program was met with wide acclaim, with Karoo Kaarte’s theatre production of Op Hierie Dag picking up 7 Kanna Award nominations and Oudtshoorn actor Mirinda Ntantiso taking home the best newcomer award for her role in the production on the night. The project team was also awarded the prestigious 2022 Heirrie Kanna award for groundbreaking contribution to the festival. Karoo Kaarte is a KKNK project supported by the ATKV (Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging), the Oudtshoorn Municipality, the Western Cape Department of Culture and Sport, Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE), and the C.P. Nel Museum. Research was supported under the To-Gather programme of the Swiss Arts Council, Pro Helvetia.