Public artworks mark a new dawn in Oudtshoorn

The Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK National Arts Festival) debuted in 1994 with the dawn of Nelson Mandela’s Rainbow Nation but for several years after that, the Festival had a chequered history which included beer cans and bottles being thrown at Miriam Makeba when she appeared on stage at the 1997 festival. The Festival gained a notorious reputation when a small group of revellers popped up the old South African flag at the Festival and on their t-shirts. Perhaps the most offensive was when revellers boasted the slogan on their t-shirts that proclaimed, ‘Praat Afrikaans of hou jou bek’ (Speak Afrikaans or keep your mouth shut).