The creative economy of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is getting a serious new platform – the province’s 34th Hilton Arts Festival, running at Hilton College in the Midlands from 7 to 9 August 2026, is joined by the inaugural KZN Art Fair, an independent, professionally curated exposition that is the first of its kind in the province.
A highlight of the new fair is Making Ground, an exhibition sponsored by iconic Pietermaritzburg-based brand Belgotex. Having spent over four decades pushing the boundaries of soft flooring both here and globally, Belgotex will not only activate the exhibition in exciting ways, but also use the platform to showcase its design ingenuity in tandem with other progressive designer-makers from the province.
Mounted in the Hilton College Memorial Hall and co-curated by KZN Art Fair co-founder Angela Shaw and design strategist Lauren Lockhart-Barker of The Forgotten Flexible, Making Ground spotlights the excellence and ingenuity of KZN practitioners shaping contemporary South African material culture. Spanning rugs, textiles, woven materiality, ceramics, basketry and industrial design, the exhibition is arranged across four curatorial themes, including industrial, mythic, earthen and geometric explorations. The display will give audiences an immersive and compelling look at the calibre of creative work being produced in the province and includes pieces by The Ninevites, Siviwe Jali, Astrid Dahl, Studio Kalki, ifa crafted by the KZNSA Gallery, Mess by Kevin Boyd, Crooks Goods, Belgotex’s Pietermaritzburg-based YUDU brand, and others.
This wide range of cutting-edge contemporary pieces will be displayed in a considered, stimulating environment that speaks to the overarching theme of materiality. The exhibition’s design language draws deliberately on Belgotex’s manufacturing identity. Look out for vivid green polypropylene fibre and upcycled Berber felt, which will serve as backdrops for the work on show, a resonant nod to the beauty that exists within the making process itself.
At the intersection of industry and design
Belgotex operates at the intersection of industry and design in a way that few companies anywhere can match, which is why they are a logical fit for Making Ground’s presenting partner. Shaw describes the relationship simply: ‘They get it; Belgotex understands the connection between high-capacity production, creative innovation and the design sustainability that emerges when the two are brought together.’
The exhibition is a meaningful moment for Belgotex in other ways, too. Approximately 18 months ago, Belgotex embarked on a deliberate strategy to embed creative practice within the business, with Lockhart-Barker spear-heading identifying and partnering with a select group of designers – Arrange Studio, Hoven, Studio Sanet, Studio Kalki & The Ninevites – to develop rugs and tufted tiles, both under the Belgotex name and through its rug brand, YUDU. The YUDU products that have come out of some of these collaborations will form part of the exhibit, with more products launching in time.
The result of this new strategic direction is a model that brings fresh creative input into the business, introduces more distinctive products to the market, and connects designers to a meaningful new revenue stream. It is also, as Lockhart-Barker notes, a model that is not yet well established in the South African design industry.
‘If we don’t maintain our ability to manufacture locally, we lose our ability to express ourselves. South Africa has extraordinary creative talent, but talent alone is not enough; it needs a manufacturing base that can bring it to life at scale, with quality, and on home soil. That is what Belgotex exists to do, and it is why partnerships like Making Ground matter so much,’ she says.
Making Ground is taking place a mere 20-minute drive from the Belgotex factory. The proximity reflects a broader conviction at the heart of the company that local manufacturing capacity and local creative expression are inseparable. In a further expression of that commitment, Belgotex is also backing the greater festival’s craft vendor section, an apt nod to the fact that emerging makers and high-end design practices are part of the same creative continuum. Additionally, Belgotex’s carpet tiles will transform the Hilton College sports centre into a performance space for the duration of the event.
Making Ground is an important part of the upward trajectory of KZN’s design industry. The exhibition’s title is drawn from the poem ‘Dunes’ by A. R. Ammons, which is a meditation on the act of building something of value in uncertain conditions, closing with the line: ‘Firm ground is not available ground.’ It is a sentiment that speaks directly to Belgotex’s own conviction that the absence of an established path is not a reason to refrain from beginning, and that the act of ‘making’ itself creates the ground on which something lasting can be built.
All members of the public and interested parties are invited to view this landmark moment for local design. Entrance to the Making Ground exhibition is free.
For more information on the KZN Art Fair at the Hilton Arts Festival, visit: https://www.kznartfair.com/
In a nutshell
At Memorial Hall, Hilton College, College Avenue, Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal Midlands
Preview Evening: Thursday, 6 August, 18h00–21h00
Schools & Public Programme: Friday, 7 August, 10h00–18h00
Public Programme: Saturday, 8 August to Sunday, 9 August, 10h00–18h00
