Proudly Porterville Art Weekend 2023

This popular art experience is now in its sixth year and will take place in Porterville from September 29 – October 1, 2023. It’s the perfect opportunity for art enthusiasts, foodies, families, outdoor enthusiasts, or anyone seeking a break from the hustle and bustle of the city to visit our charming village and enjoy a weekend of exploring a wide range of arts and crafts.

Meet our talented local artists in their studios, where you can view and purchase their artwork, attend demos and workshops, and gain insight into their creative processes. You can also visit other exhibition venues around the village, including restaurants, galleries, and pop-up shops. Check out some of the highlights from 2022 below.

If you have any inquiries, please contact us at events@bergriviertourism.co.za or call us at 022 931 3732.

venues

Click on a venue below to find out more information about the artists exhibiting and workshops taking place there.

Address of venue: 35 Frank Avenue

Artists exhibiting: Amelia Keefer, Amelia Jacobs, James Retief, Uilenbosch, Peter Retief, Joe de Villiers, Nicolene Swanepoel

Amelia Keefer

Amelia Keefer finds creative release in her ceramic practice. The tactility of her pleasure in clay is evident in her distinct style, which produces expressive raku-fired vessels that are simultaneously voluptuous and functional, useful and beautiful. Her 2023 Halo Project debuts at this year’s open studios. It features a modern interpretation of refracted light as expressed in clay figurines.

Amelia Jacobs

Amelia Jacobs has been working in clay for over 30 years. A multiple award-winning ceramist, her work spans a range of projects and materials, from delicate porcelain to everyday clay. Her functional tableware is found at niche restaurants and boutiques such as prestigious Belly of the Beast and Ouzeri in Cape Town and La Motte Wine Estate in Franschhoek. A recent commission and collaboration with architects of newly opened Galjoen restaurant in Cape Town included supply of table ware, handcrafted lampshades and some 414 individually glazed Corobrik clay bricks which formed part of a feature wall in the restaurant. The glaze was custom developed and made in her studio to depict the colour palette of the ocean. She maintains a full teaching schedule at her Cape Town studio and continues to inspire with a contemporary, open-minded approach to her craft. The Camissa vessels on show at this event were made from translucent porcelain and smoke-fired with indigenous fynbos.

James Retief

James Retief developed an affinity for hand building ceramics two years into the start of his career as a potter, unlocking a love for the slow, meditative process of making technical, geometrical, one-piece faceted objects.
His curiosity about all aspects of the craft of ceramics is always satisfied by the experimental nature of raku firing, and most recently by the precision and care required for the art of kintsugi repair of broken pieces. Retief’s work is both decorative and functional.

 

Uilenbosch

Uilenbosch creatives Jacques, Adelaide and new addition Theo continue to inspire with creations influenced by their farm at the foot of the Hawequa Mountains near Wellington. This year’s exhibits from Uilenbosch include striking ceramic pieces, obvara fired air plant holders with delicate plants nurtured by Adelaide, as well as an essential oil distilling demonstration by Theo. Adelaide’s ceramic essential oil burners will be available with the essential oils. Jacques will lead the ever popular raku and obvara firing demonstrations during the Art Weekend. Look out for the activity schedule and demonstration times on Instagram @cowshed_porterville.

Peter Retief

Peter Retief has been painting for more than half his life, revelling in the abstractions of naïve art to comment on place and politics. One often spots a flying dog in his paintings among the recognisable elements of South African landscape, and touches of humour and lightness elevate each piece to something surprisingly profound and memorable. Narrative, symbolism and mysticism coalesce around local and historical details and Retief’s love of the South African countryside is evident in every canvas/painting.

Joe de Villiers

Joe de Villiers enjoys the creative world of ceramics and the freedom of expression it provides alongside his career as an architect. Imbued with architectural reference, his current work blurs the lines between art and functionality and is best described as usable or functional art – structural pieces created through hand and slab building, as well as slip-casting, then raku fired for colour, contrast and visual interest.

Nicolene Swanepoel

NICOLENE SWANEPOEL (1962-2016)
Nicolene Swanepoel had a passion for art and an immense love for animals. This lead her to receive no less than 3 degrees in these disciplines: a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1983, a Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 1991 and an MTech (Fine Arts, specialising in ceramics) in 2008. She produced internationally acclaimed work in many mediums, including pastel, acrylic and oil paintings, silkscreens and ceramics. Towards the end of her life she was best known for her sculptural ceramic work, all of which expressed her love for animals and her intricate understanding of their
shapes and mannerisms. The exhibition at Proudly Porterville 2023 showcases a selection of smaller ceramic pieces from her brother’s collection curated by Joe de Villiers.

 

Address of venue: 22 Meul Street 

Artists exhibiting:  Carin Dorrington, Anya Lourens, Arend Louw, Clare Menck, Annelie, Janse van Rensburg, Lynn Joubert

Carin Dorrington

Carin Dorrington studied Fine Art at the University of Stellenbosch and receive her Honors Degree in 1985 under the tutelage of former lecturer Paul Emsley.

After completing her Teacher’s Diploma at US, she taught at the Jack Meyer Art Centre in Paarl for 8 years and then 16 years privately before retiring in 2017. It was during these teaching years that clay became her preferred medium for creative expression

Her work is typically joyful, sculptural and decorated in vibrant, bright colours. All her pieces are hand built and fired to 1200 degrees celsius.

Anya Lourens

It’s a privilege to create something new out of something unwanted. Each piece of discarded fabric has a story to tell, and by making something new from it, I am creating a new story… a new layer. Layered items are all made from repurposed fabrics – beautiful fabrics that are no longer needed or wanted, and I am able to give them a new lease of life! I take so much joy to create something that is beautiful, comfortable, functional and sustainable. I love to focus on creating something of good quality, and by combining different colours and textures I am able to create something completely unique!

Arend Louw

Born and raised in Bellville, Cape Town, Arend Louw has a personality as colourful as his paintings. After completing a degree in Theology, Arend spent the next few years travelling so as to explore and expand his worldview. Wanting to return to his roots, he took up residence on his family’s farm near Aurora. Located in the Sandveld region of the Cape West Coast, Arend takes inspiration from the quiet and solace from the serenity provided by the area – a detail that is evident in the focus he exercises over his art. Each work is motivated by Arend’s surroundings; his use of photography is in direct symbiosis with the paintings he creates, thus capturing the finer nuances of small town life. As Arend explains:

“The themes of my paintings are personal and yet universal. They are the scenes of everyday life. I am inspired by the effect that natural light has on a scene; a landscape or object can be transformed by the highlights and shadows that fall upon it

Clare Menck

Clare Menck is renowned for her swimmers in oils and on paper (watercolours & printmaking), some nude, some self-portraiture, as well as for her retakes on vintage photography.  She has been dealing with an LGBTQ subtext over the past few years as part of her expanding oevre.  Clare  has been represented by 99 Loop Gallery in Cape Town since 2015.  SA Print Gallery, 99 Loop & Dawid Ras Fine Art have repeatedly shown her work at the Cape Town, the Turbine & the Joburg Art Fairs.   Clare owns property in Piketberg and enjoys participation in annual Platteland art ventures like Proudly Porterville.

Annelie Janse van Rensburg

Capetonian, Annelie Janse van Rensburg, started working with clay in 2016. After a career in the corporate world, this new practice was a place to return to herself and heal. Annelie is deeply moved by nature and this love for the natural world inspires her work. She was fortunate to have clay mentors in Nienke van der Meulen and Sue Howard who shared their knowledge with her. She learned by experimenting through failures and successes. Her relationship with clay is both humbling and exhilarating. Annelie’s works are exhibited internationally and in demand in South Africa, UK, and the USA.

Lynn Joubert

Part-time ceramic artist from Durbanville.

  

Address of venue: 60 Voortrekker Street

Artists exhibiting:  Elaine Martinez, Betsy Facer, Maria van Graan, Santie de Haan

Betsy Facer

I am a self-taught artist based in Citrusdal, known for my impressionistic oil paintings, as well as my textured mixed media artworks. Growing up in Namibia between the desert and savannah grasslands, I have always been fascinated by shapes, forms and textures. The simplicity of desert landscapes and colours inspired the almost monochrome palette I use in my artworks.  My artistic choices are intuitive rather than premeditated. I use a variety of texture pastes, paper, paint, charcoal, pastels, fabric and natural fibres in my artworks. From time to time I vary my subject matter with oil portraiture. I have exhibited at De Oude Post in Phillidelphia, The Old Village Art Gallery, Citrusdal, Greyton Artwalk and Tulbach Spring arts Festival.

    

Santie de Haan

I studied at Bloemfontein University and obtained a BA-degree and Teachers Diploma.  I love languages and guess that my love for words sparks a lot of creativity which eventually overflows into my hobby, textile art.  Through the years my work has become a blend of all my interests:  nature, literature, spirituality. 

About my work

My first true love in textile was embroidery.  I later developed a unique form of machine collage that permits me to ‘paint’ with fabric.  With no formal training in textile art, I sought out every possible source of information about this art form and was eventually able to master quite a few different types of techniques.

My style

I create imaginary landscapes with textile that combine realism and abstraction. I am therefore painting  with fabric  .. . a mixture of machine collage, appliqué, embroidery and quilting and various dye processes.  I mainly use silk in all my creations.   I also work in three dimensions and weaved natural hand dyed fabrics (especially silk) and fibers into different shapes.

 

Address of venue: 54 Du Toit Street

Artists exhibiting: Andre du Toit, Joy Louw

Andre du Toit

“Portraits are my passion,” says André, who plies his craft in
the tranquil town of Porterville in the Bergrivier.

“My subjects are mostly random faces who speak to my imagination and it’s hard to explain what draws me to them in the first place and what moves me to repaint them. It’s a very intuitive process and the end result is almost always a surprise. When you do portraits of people you know, there’s always the pressure of rendering a recognisable image, which makes the whole creative journey less free and spontaneous. I love the element of surprise and I love to hang a newly finished painting on my own walls until I’m ready to add my signature and let it go.”

Joy Louw

Ek geniet die uitdaging om die natuur of foto’s te interpreteer en met ‘n skilderkwas my eie stempel

daarop te plaas. Ek is versot op  kleur en skaduwee in die natuur.

Address of venue:14 Basson Street

Artists exhibiting: Dien Bartlett, Juan-drè Kotze, Ina De Bruyn

Dien Bartlett

Dien was born and bred in Stellenbosch where she developed her art talents since her 9th year at PJ Olivier Art Centre until her matric year when she received a distinction in art. After studies at Stellenbosch University in Consumer Studies, she obtained her National Diploma in Graphic Design (before computers) at Tswane University of Technology in 1981. Some of her practical subjects were life drawing, general drawing, photography, and fine arts printing techniques like etching and silk screening.

As a graphic designer her creative style is loose and flows with colour and tone. Dien passionately enjoys the freedom of creating figures in oil, charcoal or pastels. Her recent works are landscapes and seascapes in oil and she gets her inspiration from nature. she uses her own photography for references. From a young age she was inspired by art from various old Impressionistic masters like Renoir and Cezanne. Dien is a big admirer of our Almighty Creator and His stunning work, His use of colour and light and shade.

Dien was for many years a full time art tutor to school children between the ages of 3 and 18 years old in Midrand. Her creative way of thinking and passion for art influenced many young peoples lives positively in a new way of thinking and solving problems. Diens’ daughter Caroline is following in her mothers’ footsteps as a professional fine artist in Cape Town.

Dien was a previous member of the South African society of Artists when she lived in Somerset West. Her paintings have been exhibited in Pretoria, Midrand, Queenstown, New Zealand, George, Stellenbosch, Somerset West and Cape Town as well as in Porterville where she now resides. Her art studio will soon be an open art gallery in Porterville.

Juan-drè Kotze

Inspired by nature structures the smallest mark. I wait for the work to come to me, it’s spirituel. I would like the viewer to make up their own mind.

Ina De Bruyn

Ek het jare gelede met waterverf begin en ongeveer 8 jaar gelede ook in akriel en olie begin verf. My stokperdjies as ek nie aan bruidrokke werk nie.

Address of venue: 21 Kerk Street

Artists exhibiting: Alna Prodgers, Marietjie Nieuwoudt, Anneke Smuts

Alna Prodgers

Alna Prodgers of AlnaPottery studio is a creator of bespoke functional and decorative pottery pieces, whose first love is teaching the craft and passing on her knowledge and experience of 40 years.  I also work in many other mediums to express my creativity

Marietjie Nieuwoudt

I am a fine arts oil painter based in Porterville WC. I paint with oil on canvas and board with a pallet knife. I love to [paint still life and figures landscapes and basically everything that speaks to me. I love the smell of paint around me. I use bright colours and texture in some of my paintings. My influence is my awareness of nature and the beauty of landscapes.

     

Anneke Smuts

Address of venue: 30 Du Toit St

Artists exhibiting: Paul Kristafor, Katja Abbott, Marinda Du Toit

Paul Kristafor

“I used to be a bush boy, now I play with wood! My passion for wood as a material began when I worked for many years in various remote wilderness areas of Southern and East Africa. Now, as a self-taught studio woodturner, I create vessels and bowls using a traditional lathe and gouges combined with contemporary carving techniques. I work almost exclusively with green wood. This allows the drying process to contribute to the final form of the vessel. As the tensions within the timber are resolved the vessel twists, warps and assumes the shape that the wood wants it to be. My use of scorching as a technique is inspired by the elemental part that fire plays in life in the bush. It brings out the inherent texture of the grain and invites touch.  All the timber used in my practice is sustainably sourced, often as part of an alien eradication program.”

        

Katja Abbott

After studying graphic design and working as a freelance graphic designer, illustrator and editor for many years, in 2022 I completed a Visual Arts degree (cum laude) through UNISA. Using a variety of mediums including clay, textiles and mixed media, I explore animal forms and imaginary realms that emerge through dreams. The creatures serve as gateways to the instinctual phenomenal world, silent familiars or emissaries bridging the conscious and unconscious worlds.

 

Marinda Du Toit

I work mainly with found objects and found paper, depicting characters that represent our humanities, personalities, etc and deliver comments wither social or political, etc.

Address of venue:9 Porter Street

Artists exhibiting: Aniki Pasq, Willie Jacobs, Marietjie Jacobs

Aniki Pasq

You can praise art – you can criticize art – but you can’t ignore art. .
I have a formal education in Graphic Design. I worked in the industry for more than 10 years .
I have always expressed myself in a creative way in a lot of what I do. I’ve been able to be a full-time artist the last couple of years as time became my own again.
I host private art classes for children and adults.
As an Artist with a Graphic design background my art tends to be more design orientated .
The past few years made me more diligent about my art. I find that I must be creative to stay sane in this upside-down world.”

 

Willie Jacobs

I am a self-taught artist who grew up on a farm in Colesberg. After matric in Bloemfontein I joined the airforce, from which I resigned to become a full time artist. Today I resigned in Velddrif, painting portraits and seascapes.

Marietjie Jacobs

I grew up in Bloemfontein, Free State. After years of working in the medical field, I started painting as my hobby.

  

Address of venue: 16 Piet Retief Street

Artists exhibiting: Joey Koen

Joey Koen

As a born and bred Sandvelder and former resident of Redelinghuys, Joey grew up loving and appreciating nature. Drawing on her inquisitive nature and with fine attention to detail and rich use of colour, Joey celebrates the beauty of natural forms through her art.

“Having attended various art workshops I’m not averse to dabbling in various mediums.
In receiving commissions from friends and clients, I try my best to timeously, and with as much creativity as possible reflect my unique brand of art on each and every piece I deliver.
Having been a forensic investigator I analyze and determine beforehand the best possible way of enriching each and every canvas I produce.”

Address of venue:1 Park Street  

Artists exhibiting:  Ansja le Roux, Elna-Mari Smit, Lara da Silva, Isobel Knox, Jerald Blabber, Carl Collison, Aldo Brincat, Noluthannde T Mbuyisa

Ansja le Roux

I am a self taught part-time artist, residing in Citrusdal. I started painting in 2015 by attending weekly art classes and this is where I fell in love with creating art!

At first I started out by painting portraits in oils, mostly children. By attending workshops I gained valuable knowledge and explored new mediums and techniques. Currently  my first love is creating flowers in oils with palette knives.

Flowers have a positive effect on your mood, give a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction! By creating flower art I experience all these sensations and hope to convey them to whoever is looing at my art.

Elna-Mari Smit

I started art class when I was in 3rd grade and have been in love since. I love art because you can be free with your imagination and see people smile and I want to share my art with the world someday.

Lara da Silva

Having loved the wonder of pressing flowers as a child… often discovering forgotten treasures in between the covers of big old heavy books, this age-old craft has followed me into my adulthood.
I find pressing flowers to be a way of celebrating them… the form, structure, nature and beauty of something alive which has been captured in a moment of time.
Sometimes I do this through botanicals specimens alone, whereby the flowers speak for themselves. Other times, I bring petals together to create flower collages. Either way, beautiful architecture and colour can be expected. All of my work is available in its original form.
There are times however, when I pair pressed flowers with words written on a typewriter, which I then print and make available for sale.
All of my work is framed in handmade solid wood by a local carpenter.

Isobel Knox

KZN artist represented at the Tatham Art Gallery. 

Resident in the Western Cape since 1979. I studied fine art at UKZN. Ronel Bakker invited me to exhibit with her at Driefontein Farm outside Porterville in 2019, and I have exhibited here every year since then. I love the people of Porterville. I feel at home here. 

Jerald Blabber

I have been making knives since 1993 as a hobby and have a passion for “old school ” knives. My knives are mostly made from recycled steel and most of my handles are made using red wine barrel oak, and cherry . One of my most popular blades are our chefs knives and cleavers which are made using recycled lawn mower blades. We have now also included a small stainless steel range as well.
We started our market business after a rather traumatic ordeal and was given a second chance at life. After reevaluating our life we decided to follow our passion of living in the country and doing what we love and that’s making knives and upcycling. Today my workshop is on a farm outside of Porterville and I continue making knives full time which we sell at the Neighbourgoods Biscuit Mill market in Woodstock every Saturday. Each knife a masterpiece, handcrafted with skill and passion. From kitchen to adventure, trust in our blades’ exceptional performance.
We have always had a love of markets and love the camaraderie amongst the traders and you learn to take the good with the bad. Each market has it’s own vibe and your neighbors become family.

Carl Collison

Carl Collison is a renowned journalist, photographer, and film maker with a focus on LGBTIQ+ people across Africa.

His photographs and films have been shown globally in countries such South Africa, Canada, England, Brazil, Kenya, Mozambique, Argentina, and the USA.  

Aldo Brincat

Aldo Brincat is an emerging multi-disciplinary artist, with vast experience in the performing and visual arts.

He is currently a master’s student of Visual Arts at Stellenbosch University.

He has exhibited in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, London, India, and Sweden.

Noluthannde T Mbuyisa

Noluthando T Mbuyisa artistictly known as Dlozi. M , i am an artist, art facilitator and former creative arts teacher. Im addicted to inspiration and coffee.
For me personally art is the only way i know how to express myself. Each peice i created had a story behind or it was a way of expressing my emotions.
My art is very spirotual and cultural it is drawn from my spiritual journey, its is more of story telling and educational to the masses that needs healing. My art is not only created by me but is guided by God and my ancestors.

The past 5 years it became a battle for me to create work after i lost it all but through God and my guides i was revived and given a new name as Dlozi. M (an ancestor to my family name). My recent art became a therapeutic tool to speak spritual massages that are sent through dreams, conversations and visions.
Paiting is more of my dairy its express’s what im feeling, it is a reflection of my life.

My art is my passion and i would love to share it with world as i am always exporing new ways to create and express myself with art.
I hope that my art can touch souls and make them feel something for im not jusr an artists i am a healer and Gods messanger.

Map

Resident Artists

Art Studio
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AlnaPottery Studio

Art Studio
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Andre du Toit

Art Studio
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Elton Jagels

Art Studio
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Joey’s Artwork

Art Studio
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Katja Abbott

Art Studio
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Paul Kristafor

Join us on October 14th for an epic day of mountain biking at the Piketberg MTB Challenge hosted by Org De Rac.