THE ART OF NIEU-BETHESDA
The little village of Nieu-Bethesda, tucked in a fold of the Sneeuberg Mountains in the Eastern Cape Karoo, is one of the most stimulating artistic touchstones of South Africa.
Musicians arrive in battered old split-window Kombis, set up a stage at a local bar, plug in and play for the hat and the love. Writers hire cottages for the winter and settle in behind log fires, laptops and good coffee to finish overdue book projects. Some never leave.
Painters, potters and sculptors also move here for the long haul, often staying on for decades beyond their initial plans. For inspiration, they simply step out of their front doors, inhale the fresh Karoo air and walk the dusty streets under the kindly gaze of the ever-present Compassberg peak – mostly in the general direction of Boetieʼs Pub for a sundowner.
Some dwell in comfort and
