Grace Cathedral will display the Keiskamma Altarpiece, a monumental (13’x 22’) artwork created by 120 South African women, in the only Northern California stop on its North American tour, March 27 – May 27, 2007. The altarpiece, which draws inspiration from Renaissance-era altarpieces, conveys a message of hope for people who are contending with the devastation that AIDS has wrought in their lives in the midst of poverty and other hardships. It is created of embroidery, beadwork, wire sculpture and photographs.   “Grace Cathedral and Hamburg, South Africa are two places 10,000 miles apart that have faced the same epidemic, and both chose to reflect their hopes in the same way, using images of the triptych and fabric,” said Alan Jones, dean of Grace Cathedral.

The altarpiece is named for the Keiskamma River valley in South Africa’s largely rural Eastern Cape Province, and was the brainchild of Dr. Carol Hofmeyr, a medical doctor who opened an AIDS hospice with her husband, Justus, in rural and destitute Hamburg.  Dr. Hofmeyr, the director of the Keiskamma Trust who had studied art history in addition to medicine, and envisioned the altarpiece after learning of the Isenheim Altarpiece, a Renaissance-era work of art painted by Matthias Grünewald in 1515 and commissioned by the Monastery of St. Antony in Alsace. During a plague that swept through northern Europe, these Renaissance-era monks cared for its victims, and brought comfort to those suffering and dying from a disease that in many ways parallels AIDS’ impact on Africa.Like the Isenheim Altarpiece, located today in Colmar, France, the Keiskamma Altarpiece reveals different scenes as multiple hinged panels are opened outward, portraying in vivid colors and narrative details the stories of the Hamburg community’s struggles, hopes and celebrations in thread and fabric and beads, rendered by the hands of the women and a few men in the community.

Each layer of the altarpiece is dense with embroidery, appliqué, and beadwork, with the last layer a combination of sculptural wire beadwork and photographs.  To make the altarpiece, the women learned new embroidery techniques, particularly stump-work, which involves layering the thread over cotton batting to create a 3-dimensional effect. In making this work, the 120-plus community artists hoped to draw a parallel between AIDS and other diseases that seemed hopeless and now no longer exist, thereby offering hope to people living with HIV and AIDS, and indeed to all of us. The artists also wanted to show that, although they may feel cut off and alone in their suffering, they are part of the whole of humanity, past and present, who have had to deal with terrible afflictions.

The Keiskamma Altarpiece is the second monumental artwork made by the women of the coastal town of Hamburg, located in South Africa’s largely rural Eastern Cape Province. The first such piece, the 138 foot “Democracy Tapestry,” inspired by the famed Bayeux Tapestry, presents the history of South Africa’s first ten years of democracy.

Keiskamma Altarpiece Details

The Keiskamma Altarpiece depicts the annunciation, crucifixion, resurrection and other events of the New Testament from the point of view of people from the Keiskamma region who live in the midst of AIDS, poverty and other hardships. Community discussions about the Isenheim Altarpiece led to a preliminary set of drawings by one of the women, Nozimasile Makubalo.  Working from those sketches, four young art students from the village––Nokupiwe Gedze, Cebo Mvubu, Nomfusi Nkani, and Kwanele Ghanto––translated the drawings onto cloth panels.  Then teams of women transformed the stenciled designs into embroidery.  Grünewald’s Christ figure is replaced by that of a widow in traditional Xhosa mourning with an elderly woman and children of the community representing those orphaned by AIDS and the grandparents who care for them. On either side are two elderly women who have been stalwarts of the community and who have borne enormous grief.

The second of the three layers of panels presents a vision of hope, redemption and restoration.  The vibrantly colored images depict trees, birds, cattle, fish, and traditional life and worship in the village. This idealized picture of Hamburg and environs includes the image of a local prophet in red, running through the sand to make decorative prayer patterns with his feet.

The third and innermost layer of panels portrays resurrection through the wisdom of the elderly and the hope for new generations.  Dramatic life-size photographs printed on canvas show three local grandmothers and their orphaned grandchildren.  This section was fabricated by Ardwork Jange from a Cape Town organization, Streetwise, along with local Ntilini women.

Keiskamma Altarpiece U.S. Tour, 2007-2008

The altarpiece was first brought to the U.S. by the UCLA AIDS Institute and the Art/Global Health Center at UCLA in 2006. St. James Cathedral, Chicago, which was the first U.S. venue for the altarpiece, is the national sponsor of the extended American tour that begins with Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. The tour is expected to include five other American cities before returning for a second and final showing at St. James Cathedral.

Keiskamma Altarpiece Community Celebration, April 12

Grace Cathedral will host a special celebration on Thurs., April 12 to formally open the altarpiece’s exhibit. Eunice Nombulelo Mangwane, who is Hamburg’s sole AIDS counselor, and whose photos, with three grandchildren, appears in the altarpiece, will travel from South Africa for this event and will share a firsthand perspective on the altarpiece and on the greater issue of AIDS’ impact on Africa today. Entertainment will be provided by the Allen Temple Baptist Church. The event is open to the public and admission is by donation. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.