Camissa Create is a performance art company specializing in heritage, historical narratives, and site-specific work. We use performance art to drive social change in South Africa, with a unique artistic identity rooted in cultural heritage, while focusing on youth and skills development to empower the next generation in the arts. The company celebrates Indigenous cultures, ensuring our histories are honored and preserved through restorative memory.
Our Mission
At Camissa Create, we harness the power of performance art to inspire social change and celebrate South Africa’s rich cultural diversity. Rooted in innovation and artistic excellence, we craft site-specific works that bring historical narratives to life—connecting deeply with communities and resonating with contemporary audiences. Through shared Indigenous perspectives, we show how the legacy of colonialism has shaped our past and present.
At our core, we believe the arts can transform lives. Our vision is to create sustainable opportunities for artists and communities, while fostering a culture of collaboration, creativity, and shared growth.
Meet Our Team
Luke De Kock
Founder & Director
Luke De Kock is known for his site-specific performance work that explores indigenous heritage, Cape slavery, colonial legacies, and cultural narratives. Based in Cape Town, he is a director, choreographer, and performing artist with a dynamic body of work across film, stage, and museums. A graduate of Jazzart Dance Theatre and the University of Cape Town, where he trained and studied Theatre and Performance. He has choreographed international films such as Honey 3, Runs in the Family, and has an extensive portfolio of commercial work for major global brands. He performed alongside Toni Braxton during her Long As I Live Tour in South Africa, John Legend (Bidvest - “On Track”) and worked with Lalah Hathaway as movement director during her tour to South Africa. As the founder of Camissa Create, De Kock uses storytelling, movement, and music to illuminate South Africa’s complex histories in productions like the Camissa Heritage Tour, performed at significant cultural sites of memory including the Castle of Good Hope, Cape Winelands and Iziko Museums. His work is rooted in cultural resilience, youth development, and the restoration of ancestral memory.
Lucelle Campbell
Historian & Activist
Historian and cultural activist committed to uncovering and sharing the hidden histories of Cape Slavery and South Africa’s Indigenous Khoi and San peoples. Campbell emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the deep scars left by colonialism, which deliberately aimed to erase the histories of the First Peoples and the Indian Ocean slave trade to Cape Town. She describes her work as a journey of "transcending history by accessing ancestral memory," aiming to reveal the authentic stories that have been obscured for centuries. Her tours, often conducted at significant heritage sites like the Slave Lodge, the Castle of Good Hope, and other significant sites, provide audiences with a deeper understanding of the South Africa's complex past.
Glen Arendse
Multidisciplinary Artist & Activist
Glen Arendse is a South African musician, cultural activist, and educator known for preserving the musical heritage of the Bushman peoples. As a member of Khoi Khonnexion, he revives traditional instruments like the Bushman mouthbow, connecting audiences to ancestral music. His performances, at the Camissa Heritage Tour, celebrates indigenous heritage and journey's audiences through a unique soundscape. Arendse also leads workshops that inspire cultural pride and creativity, playing a key role in preserving South Africa’s indigenous musical traditions.
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