The !Xun & Khwe Art Project

A unique art project established 1993 in a refugee camp in South Africa.

The !Xun & Khwe Art Project was developed in 1993 in a refugee camp in Schmidtsdrift, South Africa. After being party to the struggles for liberation from colonial rule, endangered groups of San people from Namibia and Angola were relocated there. They eventually found their final home in the self-governing South African community of Platfontein. The art of the !Xun and Khwe came about during the short period of transition from a traditional way of life to a modern, globalised society. This is what makes them unique. The collection of Hella Rabbethge-Schiller reveals the remarkable creativity and visual expressiveness of the artists. Despite otherwise depending on oral transmission, the San have captured their stories for posterity here in images charged with energy. Text in English and German.