Janet holds a BTech qualification (cum laude) in Graphic Design from the Vaal University of Technology in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, South Africa. Since 2006 she has worked in design agencies and as freelancer for businesses, artists and brands that include Optima Training, Ingrid Nuss, Strijdom van der Merwe, 350.org, African Climate Reality Project, and StateoftheArt Gallery.

Co-founder of Ethos Gallery in Wilderness, and working with galleries like StateoftheArt Gallery and Wessel Snyman Creative, as well as running ecology-focused exhibitions, Janet has honed her skills in curation and decor. Focused on place-making and space transformation in interior as well as exterior spaces, Janet aims to bring beauty, function and environmental considerations into a holistic whole.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023 | The Stones Speak, The Moss Whispers, Ninette Steyl Gallery, Wilderness, South Africa (April).

Using art, poetry and a treeplanting ceremony on Earth Day the exhibition aims were to offer an experience that reconnects visitors to nature, grounds them into the present moment, and presents a different perspective about the world. My work for this project was inspired by the messages we can all receive from the natural world. There are memories, knowledge and wisdom in the stones, trees, sand, moss and on the wind. When we learn to tap into this – through the stories of elders, or intuitively with our own body – we discover a new tool, a new way of being, a new perspective. Which can lead to a tangible and visceral understanding of our place within the world. The production of the art and the printing of the catalogue was funded by the African Culture Fund (Fonds Africain pour la Culture).


2020 | Feel the Earth Breathing, vFringe programme of the National Arts Festival, exhibited online.

Feel the Earth breathing, a collection of drawings, mixed media art, and photography by Janet Botes, is inspired by an emotional response to moments spent in the forest, on the beach, and traveling. They represent the artist’s deep respect for and appreciation of the Earth’s biodiversity and the wisdom locked away in moments of silence – moments during which you can hear the song of the Earth and the sea if you listen carefully enough. Intentionally created as visual prayers, these artworks speak of connection and silent growth through natural cycles.


2016 | ORGANISM, StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa (April).

There are currently 10-14 million species of life on Earth. A species is defined as a group of the same organism that can reproduce with one another and produce fertile offspring; an organism is seen as a biotic, a living part of the environment. Each of the artworks in this exhibition is inspired by the scientific-biological nature, but also the spiritual symbolism, of an organism. Each of us is an organism, quite unlike others, but at the same time also the same. Human embryos resemble the embryos of any other mammal, bird or amphibian during certain developmental stages because all animals carry very ancient genes dating back to the origin of cells. We’re created from the same dust, elements and atoms and governed by the same natural laws – even though our human-made laws don’t grant the same rights to other organisms.


2014 | WILD & STILL: expressions of the landscape, StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa (June).

Wildness ~ the sheer power and awe of waves crashing onto the beach or a storm raging in the sky. Stillness ~ in the silent beauty of mist, the curve of a shell and the fine details of an insect’s wing. This exhibition of artworks aims to achieve a tension between the raw power of the wilderness and tranquillity in a natural landscape. The artworks include still snapshots of wildness in the form of paintings, drawings, mixed media work and original limited edition prints. “I believe that if one can really appreciate or see beauty in all aspects of nature, accept the ‘wildness’ and create ‘stillness’ within ourselves, we’d have a more compassionate interaction within our daily lives and contribute to humanity in a collective revolution“. A big thank you to Strijdom van der Merwe for the introduction on the opening night of the exhibition.

PERFORMANCES / INSTALLATIONS

2016 | Stories of Rain (GNAP SA 2017), Houw Hoek, Western Cape, South Africa.
2015 | Dirt is good, soil installation at THAT ART FAIR, Salt River, Cape Town.
2013 | A Journey in Words & Nuances, poetry narrative, StateoftheART gallery, Cape Town
2012 | Activate public space, public sand installation, Creative Week Cape Town
2012 | SAND(SPOOR], interactive installation and performance, Arts Lounge, National Arts Festival

RESIDENCIES

  • Tankwa Artscape, Tankwa Karoo, South Africa (June 2019, October 2020, April 2022)
  • OPENLab2016, as part of the Programme for Innovation in Artform Development (PIAD), an initiative of the Vrystaat Arts Festival and University of the Free State. Included a weeklong residency at MAP (Modern Art Projects) in Richmond. (July 2016)
  • Global Nomadic Art Project Korea II. Presented by Yatoo-i, South Korea. (August 2015)
  • Thupelo workshop, Ruth Prowse School of Art, Woodstock, Cape Town, South Africa (June 2015)
  • Site_Specific International Land Art Biennale, Plettenberg Bay (August 2013)
  • Koekenaap regional artists workshop. Presented by Wesland Art Society and the Department of Cultural Affairs, Koekenaap, Matzikama District, South Africa (October 2011)

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS

➔ 2023 | Nature Art Cube Exhibition ‘12x12x12+Nature’, Geumgang Nature Art Centre, Gongju, South Korea.
➔ 2023 | REIMAGINED, George Museum, South Africa.
➔ 2021 | EVOKING, Ingrid Nuss Fine Art Gallery, Timberlake Organic Village, Garden Route, ZA.
➔ 2020 | RUST-EN-VREDE RESCUE, Fundraising Group Exhibition, Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Durbanville, South Africa.
➔ 2020 | The Grand V, Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, exhibited online
➔ 2020 | Myopia, William Humphreys Art Gallery, exhibited online
➔ 2019 | Tankwa Artscape artworks exhibited in public space in Romania
➔ 2019 | ‘12x12x12+Nature’ Art cube exhibition, Geumgang Nature Art Center, Gongju, South Korea.
➔ 2019 | Home Moods. Liebrecht Gallery. Somerset West
➔ 2018 | Water, Liebrecht Gallery, Somerset West, South Africa.
➔ 2018 | VERGE. Knysna Art Gallery, Old Gaol museum complex, Knysna, South Africa
➔ 2018 | The Grand IV, Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
➔ 2017 | SPRING | UNTITLED. StateoftheArt Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
➔ 2017 | Stream of Consciousness. Liebrecht Gallery, Somerset West.
➔ 2016 | OutoftheCUBE at Turbine Art Fair, 14-17 July, Johannesburg.
➔ 2015 | It’s in my Nature… Exhibition by Janet Botes & Jaco Coetzee. Liebrecht Gallery, Somerset West
➔ 2015 | An Awareness of Trees. Art Sauce, 62 Roeland Street, Cape Town, South Africa
➔ 2015 | Remembrance of Nature: 30 Nature Artists in the World, Geumgang Nature Art Centre, Gongju, S.Korea.
➔ 2015 | The Snake Eagle Thinking Path Launch exhibition. Matjiesfontein, Karoo, South Africa
➔ 2014 | Equus. Equus Gallery, Cavalli Estate, R44 between Somerset West and Stellenbosch
➔ 2014 | A Sense of Place. OutoftheCUBE online gallery
➔ 2014 | The industrial Karoo: FEAR & LOSS. Curated by Katie Barnard du Toit. Oliewenhuis Art Museum, “The Reservoir”, Bloemfontein.
➔ 2013 | Pieces & Puzzles: Compositions of human expression inspired by nature. Lovell Gallery, Woodstock, South Africa.
➔ 2013 | Fragile Beautifull II. The Working Gallery, Bergvliet, Cape Town
➔ 2013 | Encounters Annual Wildlife exhibition at the Cape Gallery, Cape Town
➔ 2013 | Hiernamaals – Hereafter, Slee Gallery, Stellenbosch
➔ 2012 | (eco)nversations GREEN ART 2012, Green Expo, Cape Town International Convention Centre
➔ 2012 | Walk This Earth Alone, Gallery @ Grande Provence, Franschhoek, Western Cape.
➔ 2012 | HumanEarth III: First Material, US Gallery, University of Stellenbosch’s Woordfees, , South Africa.
➔ 2011 | Scrapes & Scapes. Bodutu Gallery,Vanderbijlpark
➔ 2011 | HumanEarth: conversation, Wessel Snyman Creative, Cape Town. Curated by Nastasha Daniels
➔ 2010 | Dare to Dream in Silent Moments, Wessel Snyman Creative, Cape Town
➔ 2010 | Nuances Performance, City Soireé, 29 September. Wessel Snyman Creative, Cape Town
➔ 2010 | VAN-Guard Winelands Group Exhibition, Western Cape. Curated by VANSA
➔ 2009 | State of Mind, VANSA Spin Space, Cape Town
➔ 2009 | Sangisa Sangisa, exhibition & group performance, VANSA Spin Space, Cape Town
➔ 2009 | Unified: Unpretty, Unclean, Underneath, Unnatural. Eat Your Words Artspace, Vereeniging
➔2009 | Between the lines, Gallery at Duncan Yard, Hatfield, Pretoria. Curated by Cecily Phol

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Opened and managed Ethos gallery with Ashleigh de Villiers at Timberlake Organic Village, Wilderness, South Africa (July 2023 – March 2024)

Facilitation of creative process, and art skills development, offered through art classes and creative workshops for groups and individuals (2012 – current)

Coordinating projects relating to nature conservation. Including the initiation of beach cleanups, land art sessions, brainstorming sessions, exhibitions, and working alongside NGOs to use art to educate or inspire.

Curating for selected blogs, collections, galleries, and for these two self-initiated projects:

  • (eco)nversations Green Art exhibition at the Green Expo, CTICC (2012)
  • VERGE Exhibition and series of workshops/talks in Knysna (2018)

Participated, co-coordinated & contributed to public land art projects, including:

  • Land Art Programme at Plett Art Festival (2022 – 2023)
  • Tankwa Artscape (2019-2023)
  • Stories of Rain – Global Nomadic Art Project (2016)
  • Karoo Geoglyph Project (2015)
  • Site_Specfic Land Art event at Wildekrans Country House for Elgin Open Gardens (2015)
  • Site_Specific Land Art Biennale (2013)

Freelance graphic design, branding, and marketing assistance to environmental NGOs, art galleries, artists, training companies, entrepreneurs and healing businesses. (2010-2023)

Artwork commissions & corporate collections, including:
Heinz Attorneys, Optima Training, ComZtek, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Artwork for the Sandown MyCiti bus station for Cape Town City (2013)

Invited judge for Shoprite Checkers Development Fund Strokes of Genius Schools Art Competition (2012 – 2013)

FORMAL EDUCATION

2006 | B TECH: Graphic Design (Cum Laude), Vaal University of Technology, South Africa
2002 | Senior Certificate with Merit, Transvalia High School, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

WORKSHOPS / COURSES ATTENDED

2018 | Pen & Stone. Presented by Heleen de Haas, Die Letterhuis, Prince Albert, South Africa.
2014 | Creating Site-Specific Dance and Performance Works, CALARTS online course presented by Stephan Koplowitz, California Institute of the Arts.
2013 | Introduction to Art Therapy. Presented by Samantha Davis, Cape Town.
2011 | IN FOCUS concept development workshop. Kai Lossgott, hosted by VANSA Western Cape
2011 | Cross Pollination Workshop, by Karen Suskin, Helen van Zyl, Haldane Martin. Cape Town.
2010 | Professional Practice for Artists. Les Cohn, Tarryn Cohn, Theresa Lizamore. Cape Town
2009 | Performance Art Workshop. Spier Contemporary & African Centre, by Jay Pather, University of Cape Town’s Hiddingh Campus, Cape Town
2009 | Lomography Workshop. Fernando Badiali (Exposure Gallery), Greatmore Studios, Cape Town

ART PRACTICE

I create art in response to my environment and sense of place – guided and inspired by the natural cycles of our planet, whether it’s the seasons, moon cycles, or my body’s rhythms. My work is often transient installation pieces, or created with sand or mud, but I also work in watercolour, mixed media, found objects, and recently starting using textiles, threading and calligraphy in my work. My conceptual explorations have been dominated by landscapes and observation drawings of veld finds, but recently veering towards abstract expressionism interwoven with an interest in deep ecology & spirituality.