Knysna Arts Society (KAS)

Knysna Arts Society (KAS)

Knysna

Established in the early 1980s, the Knysna Arts Society (KAS) has provided this creative community with a platform to network, share, learn, collaborate, exhibit, and showcase their skills, talents and work for nearly 40 years. The Knysna Arts Society currently has 190 member-artists.

The Association host regular exhibitions in the Old Gaol in Queen Street to provide artist with a platform to display their creativity. Studio visits are very popular and are arranged monthly to introduce various artists to the members and to learn from each other. KAS serves to advertise art workshops and private exhibitions by members and the many art teachers in the organisation.

In 2023 KAS added a crafters competition – the Kiri-Kiri project that ended with a price giving party on a Paddle Cruiser on the Knysna Estuary. The “Be Seated” 3-D exhibition was another opportunity to involve crafters in a fun exhibition that also included poetry submissions.

In 2020, the Knysna Arts Society, in partnership with the Greater Knysna Municipality and Knysna’s tourism organisation, embarked on the #KnysnaArtProject – an initiative to make art more accessible by introducing it to outdoor public spaces and establishing a self-drive interactive art route.

To date the #KnysnaArtProject has seen the creation of the Sedgefield “Love Bug “- an exquisitely mosaiced VW beetle parked on the side of the estuary; the Buffels Baai “Boardwalk” – a series of surf-themed murals and surfboard artworks by different artists; the Brenton on Sea “Wall of Wings” – a giant steel tribute to the Brenton Blue Butterfly; the “Kringe in ‘n Bos” mural – a tribute to author Dalene Matthee and Knysna’s forests; and the “Rasta on the Mount” – a towering 2,2m tall tribute to Rastafari messiah Haile Selassi.


Zelmarie van Rooyen, Chairperson

zvrtown@mweb.co.za

www.knysnaarts.com

082 447 7703

The Old Gaol Gallery, Corner of Queen Street and Main Road, Knysna, Western Cape 6571