!Xun and Khwe Art Project Lithograph Archive

Joao Dikuanga working on a plate for one of his prints.

The !Xun and Khwe Art Project was started in 1993 by Catharina Meyer. Meyer started the Kuru Art Project in D’Kar in 1989 and based on her success with Kuru decided to work with the !Xun and Khwe community at Schmidtsdrift. The community (originally from northern Namibia and southern Angola ) decided to come to South Africa when the South African Defence Force withdrew from Namibia when it became independent. During the liberation war in Namibia the !Xun and Khwe were recruited into the SADF. Fearing reprisals, the community was granted South African citizenship. Schmidtsdrift was a military tent town on a farm outside Kimberley. A semi-desert landscape with bitterly cold winters, in a country, that the community had no real links to, Schmidtsdrift had the quality of a refugee/concentration camp. In 2003 the community moved to Platfontein, a farm that was bought on their behalf, also near Kimberley. Many of the social problems resulting from dislocation, lack of resources and unemployment followed the community to Platfontein. The art project has struggled with continuity, funding and support and sadly many of the original artists have died.

The artists were given the opportunity to express their thoughts, their ideas, their stories, their myths and their customs using modern media such as oil or acrylic painting as well as various print techniques. The art project enabled the artists to make a living and provide for their families and to overcome the trauma of war and deprivation. What is poignant about these prints is the equal treatment given to plants, animals, rosaries, guns, alcohol, identity, birds and landmines.

In 1994 Tamar Mason initiated a tinwork project with women at Schmidtsdrift. The craft project produced decorative household items from recycled and waste tin sheeting. Having coordinated the first lithographs produced with the Kuru Art Project she then assisted Mark Attwood to get funding from The Foundation For Creative Arts for a lithography workshop and to edition a suite of prints. These are the prints that resulted from the project. They were not published by The Artists’ Press but were the property of the artists and were sold under the auspices of the art project. They are included on this website for research purposes.

The Kuru Art Project

Artists A - L

Artists M - X

Print Archive

Jurietta (Julietta) Carimbwe working on a lithograph.


Artist: Zuretta
Title: Person and flowers
Medium: Single colour lithograph
Paper size: 21 x 30 cm
Edition size: 26
Date: 1995


Artist:  Katunga Carimbwe
Title:  Caravan and tents at Schmidtsdrift
Medium: Single colour  lithograph
Paper size: 42 x 64 cm
Edition size: 17
Date: 1995


Artist: Katunga Carimbwe
Title: Three goats, bird and a snake
Medium: Single colour  lithograph
Paper size: 42 x 58.5 cm
Edition size: 20
Date: 1995


Artist: Katunga Carimbwe
Title: Four animals and satan
Medium: Single colour  lithograph
Paper size: 22 x 76.5 cm
Edition size: 13
Date: 1995


Artist: Freciano Ndala
Title: Bucket and animals
Medium: Single colour  lithograph
Paper size: 30 x 21 cm
Edition size: 28
Date: 1995


Artist: Freciano Ndala
Title: Man with beer
Medium: Single colour  lithograph
Paper size: 30 x 21 cm
Edition size: 28
Date: 1995


Artist: Freciano Ndala
Title: Tent town
Medium: Single colour  lithograph
Paper size: 62 x 76 cm
Edition size: 11
Date: 1995


Artist: Freciano Ndala
Title: Two Soldiers
Medium: Single colour  lithograph
Paper size: 76.5 x 59.5 cm
Edition size: 12
Date: 1995


Artist: Fulai (Flai) Shipipa
Title: Identity Document
Medium: Single colour lithograph
Paper size: 30 x 21 cm
Edition size: 30
Date: 1995


Artist: Fulai (Flai) Shipipa
Title: Two rosaries and an eel
Medium: Single colour  lithograph
Paper size: 58.5 x 42 cm
Edition size: 19
Date: 1995


Artist: Joao Wenne Dikuanga
Title: Man next to tent
Medium: Single colour  lithograph
Paper size: 62 x 76 cm
Edition size: 11
Date: 1995


Artist: Joao Wenne Dikuanga
Title: Snakebite
Medium: Single colour lithograph
Paper size: 42 x 58 cm
Edition size: 19
Date: 1995


Artist: Zuretta
Title: Bead Composition
Medium: Single colour  lithograph
Paper size: 42 x 58.5 cm
Edition size: 19
Date: 1995


Artists: Zuretta and Jurietta (Julietta) Carimbwe
Title: Nests, Landmines and Plants
Medium: Single colour  lithograph
Paper size: 42.5 x 52 cm
Edition size: 14
Date: 1995


Artist: Jurietta (Julietta) Carimbwe
Title: Leaves
Medium: Single colour  lithograph
Paper size: 21 x 30 cm
Edition size: 28
Date: 1995


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