This year the KKNK introduces its local Artist Residency: Four South African artists each spent two weeks in Oudtshoorn to immerse themselves in the unique textures, structures and environment of the Klein Karoo. Artworks were produced that are in direct response to the physical landscape and the people of the region.

These artists have never visited Oudtshoorn before. The residency is firstly an attempt to build relationships and secondly a way of sharing the richness of the region in a special and personal way with individual artists. Some of the works by Wonder Marthinus, Seretse Moletsane, Alka Dass and Kamyar Bineshtarigh, inspired by their residency, are exhibited during the festival.

In March 2025, Sonia Martins Mateus from France will return to work in Oudtshoorn for two months, after she lost her heart to the landscape during a short stay in 2023. She will open the Deep Ground exhibition.