Stories of Rain, the South African leg of the Global Nomadic Art Project (GNAP) 2016 initiated by Yatoo – the South Korean Nature Arts Association, follows in the steps of the First Peoples of South Africa, featuring local and international artists.
Stories of Rain is a non-profit initiative hosted by volunteers of the Site_Specific Collective – a land and nature art initiative based in South Africa.
Stories of Rain Conversations reflects the experiences and work of artists traversing the South African landscape, engaging environmental issues, history and place. In this time of palpable climate change, humanity finds itself at the cusp of profound natural and cultural transformation.
For a month we travelled as artists, coordinators, hosts and nomads through the country, creating art wherever we went. With 10 international visiting artists and about 70 local artists involved, this was one of the biggest projects I’ve ever been involved with! I was co-coordinator, host for various parts of the trip, and did the graphic design/layout for some of the materials we needed. Most importantly for me, however, is that I was there as an artist too – I had the opportunity to create these land art works, learn from the other artists, and deepen my understanding of the world around me. In some ways it also challenged a lot of my preconceptions! And that is how we grow, isn’t it?
My routes included visiting the Cederberg, Gifberg, Langebaan, !Khwa ttu, Cape Point, Wildekrans Country House in Houw Hoek and Porcupine Hills. I am not going to be able to name absolutely everybody here, but mainly I travelled, lived and created alongside (in order of appearance on the project) Hamish Niven, István Erőss, Ulrika Sparre, Ingrid Coerlin, Soonim Kim, Andrea Stallbom, Mr. Ko (Ko, Seung-hyun), Jasmine Lee, Nastasha Daniels and Yazeed Kamaldien.
Find out more about the project:
Site_Specific website >>
The project facebook page >>
Watch a video by Louis Bolton with Kim Goodwin at Sanddrif in the Cederberg >>
Thank you to the countless participants, sponsors and partners involved in this project!! Personally I’d like to specifically thank Strijdom van der Merwe, Anni Snyman, Hamish Niven, Virginia MacKenny for your incredible commitment and hard work; a heartfelt thank you to Pierre Bezuidenhout, Janet Ranson, Jennifer Reynolds, Elma Giliomee, Alison Green, Jessica Schnehage, Adri Bezuidenhout, and Joppie and Susan Botes for all your support and making sure I have food and a bed during this project!! A special thank you also to Andrea Stallbom, PC van Rensburg, and Nastasha Daniels. There’s SO many people I’m not mentioning that played an incredible role in making this project so successful – trust me, I’m very grateful to you!!
