Battiss Artscape Festival

We invite you to the world of Walter Battiss. Join us for the Walter Battiss Artscape Festival, a weekend of good old-fashioned country living with a twist.

Let your creative juices flow, bring your friends and family, come and enjoy the Artscape festival, 18-20 August 2023. Find your Fook Island at the foot of the Boschberg Mountain, the oasis of the Karoo.

The Festival is aimed at art lovers from around the country, and we hope to raise awareness of the Walter Battiss Art Museum, and raise funds to sustain the museum throughout the next twelve months. The Walter Battiss Foundation is a non-profit organization, and is wholly dependent on donations to empower future generations of creative thinkers, and sustain the legacy of Walter Battiss in perpetuity.

Friday evening will have Fook Island inspired themed food, paired with wine, gin or whisky offered at several venues in Somerset East. Catch the Fook Ferry from one venue to the next, using your Fook Island map, making sure you get your Fook Island passport stamped at each venue. Each stamp will be your ticket entered into the lucky draw with wonderful prizes up for grabs on Saturday night at the Battiss memorabilia auction. The more tastings you enjoy, the more tickets you have entered into the lucky draw, increasing your chances for a great prize.

Saturday, make sure you dress the part for the Fook Island themed parkrun. Book your four ball to enjoy the American scramble golf day at the Somerset East golf club. The third hole rated as one of his top one hundred holes, by Gary Player.

Register for art classes with the travelling Karoo artist Annari Oosthuizen. Stroll around the craft market at Gill College, offering local handmade goodies, pick up some tasty treats or cast your vote for the best succulent display presented by the Garden Club. Visit the Walter Battiss art museum to see some of his original master pieces. On Saturday evening make sure you are at the golf club to enjoy a local spit braai of venison or lamb and participate in the auction, offering collectable Battiss memorabilia.