The Kanna Awards, informally known as the Klein Karoo Oscars, recognise productions of outstanding quality at the annual Absa KKNK which take place in Oudtshoorn each year. This year there are ten categories, each with three nominees. All productions of the official festival programme are eligible for consideration by the panel of esteemed judges made up by professionals of the arts and entertainment industry.
The 2012 Kanna panel was led by Erns Grundling, assisted by David April, Charl Bezuidenhout, Willemien Brümmer, Chrisna du Preez, Eduard Greyling, Hylton Nel, Robert Pearce, Laetitia Pople, Pieter Redelinghuys, Martjie Roos, John Theodore, Wim Vorster, Hein Willemse and Celeste Williams.
This year, the Absa KKNK festival programme offered 37 theatre productions, two dance productions, five children’s theatre shows, six literary productions and 20 visual art exhibitions. The task of selecting the nominees was a challenging one for the judges who had to spend many hours in theatres and galleries, allowing for an average of one hour per production or exhibition viewing.
“We are delighted with the success the project has received so far and we are honoured to have been recognised and nominated for the Kanna Award”, says Teresa Lizamore, curator of the project which she has presented through Artspace Gallery of which she is curator and director.
The project’s first exhibition, Ik Ben Een Afrikander (I am an African) was presented as a group exhibition at Artspace Gallery in June 2011. It received an overwhelming response from the public and in the media. Lizamore decided to expand the reach by developing a longer term project to provide a platform to further explore the issues that were raised by the first exhibition.
The project seeks to reflect the rising voices of new Afrikaans intellectuals, artists, poets and literary thinkers who have been grappling with the concept of an Afrikaner identity – one that distances itself from a shameful identity – a relic from a period from which the country has moved forward.
Says Lizamore on the reason she launched the project:
“As an Afrikaner of a certain age I was raised during Apartheid and also witnessed its downfall. Through political history, the terms Afrikaner and African have come to occupy opposite sides of an identity debate. I ask the questions, what makes an Afrikaner? It has been an interesting irony to examine the roots of the term ‘Afrikaner’. Afrikander was first uttered by Hendrik Biebow in 1707 when he was declaring his allegiance to the African continent and hence declaring himself as an African!”
Ik Ben Een Afrikander II was presented at the Stellenbosch Woordfees 2012 in March this year. The artists represented on this show were Hanneke Benade, Willie Bester, Lien Botha, Hannelie Coetzee, Johann du Plessis, Pauline Gutter, Sandra Hanekom, Marieke Kruger, Clare Menck, John Murray, Mea Ox, Henk Serfontein and Jaco Sieberhagen.
Ik Ben Een Afrikander IIl, which showed at the 2012 Absa KKNK from 31 March to 7 April is a compelling group exhibition which featured the work of visual artists Willem Boshoff, Francki Burger, Hannelie Coetzee, Pauline Gutter, Danelle Janse van Rensburg, Ruhan Janse van Vuuren, Madelein Marincowitz, Clare Menck, John Murray, Louis Olivier, Richardt Strydom, Cobus van Bosch, Engela van der Hoven, Jan van der Merwe and Reney Warrington.
As part of the project, a publication was produced and was launched at the Ik Ben Een Afrikander III exhibition in Oudsthoorn. The project will continue to explore the expanding definition of ‘Afrikaner’, and what it means to those ‘outside’ the boundaries of the definition, as well as those within- and of course what (if any) the definition of ‘Afrikaner’ actually is.
The Kanna Award winners will be announced on Sunday, 6 May, at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town.
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Article source: http://mediaupdate.co.za/?IDStory=46347