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Art students’ pilgrimage and learning from Willem Boshoff

23 February 2022 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rian Horn

Towards the end of 2021, a group of Fine Arts students – both undergraduate and postgraduate – were among the first visitors to the Word Woes exhibition by Prof Willem Boshoff, affiliated UFS A-1 NRF-rated scholar, at the Javett Art Centre in Pretoria. It was as if a new world had opened to experience the art first-hand, and the VIP tour by Willem Boshoff was definitely the cherry on top. The exhibition opens on 13 March 2022.

Prof Boshoff, South Africa’s only NRF A-rated scholar in the arts, is an affiliated scholar and artist in the Department of Fine Arts at the University of the Free State (UFS). The ‘enriching’ trip was made possible through generous funding from Dr Engela van Staden, Vice-Rector: Academic. The purpose of the trip was twofold; it was an opportunity for students to visit an art gallery, and also to “enrich the learning and teaching of the Fine Arts programme by exposing the students to a large art gallery and excellent art exhibitions”, according to Lecturer Adelheid von Maltitz.

“The educational value and professional exposure to high-level experts in their field are the most important input for the students,” Dr Van Staden said. The department plans to conduct annual visits to art galleries outside of the Free State.

UFS Fine Arts privileged to be associated with Prof Boshoff

Prof Willem Boshoff is an enigma in his own right; he is an internationally renowned artist and academic who has been involved with the UFS for more than 10 years, and his involvement with the Department of Fine Arts brings an invaluable opportunity for students and staff alike. “This allows our students to gain insight into his artistic practice, which in turn may positively impact their own,” says Vol Maltitz.

The duality of the Word Woes exhibition

The title of the exhibition reflects the very brand of Willem Boshoff and is a retrospective of the works spanning his artistic practice, as per the Javett Art Centre website. The words ‘Word Woes’ can be understood in English or Afrikaans. “In either language the two words look identical, but their meanings differ sharply. Read in English, the title WORD WOES bemoans difficult issues around words and language. Read in Afrikaans, the same words liberate, prompting us to let go and be wild.”

Visit the Javett Art Centre website for more information.

Video by: Rian Horn (Odd Looking Tree)

News Archive

Fasset continues to fuel academic excellence at the UFS

2017-12-15

Programme Director: School of Accounting, Prof Hentie van Wyk, and
Dean: Economic and Management Sciences, Prof Hendri Kroukamp
excited about the unveiling of the Finance and Accounting Services
Sector Education and Training Authority (Fasset)
plaque at the School of Accounting.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

The School of Accounting on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) held an unveiling ceremony for a Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Fasset) plaque. The plaque was unveiled by UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, and Fasset CEO, Lesego Lebuso. This was in honour of Fasset’s partnership with the UFS and its contribution towards driving academic excellence through its Intrabas projects over the past few years.

Funding for teaching and learning initiatives
These projects support the development of black student enrolment and performance in Accounting Studies. During the previous year, Fasset gave the UFS R54 million in funding to support teaching and learning initiatives for 960 black Accounting students. These students were enrolled for BAcc, BCom(Acc), BAcc(Hons)/PGDipCA, and BCom(Hons in Acc)/PGDipGA studies. In the same year, a celebratory ceremony was held at the South Campus for 125 Fasset-funded students to celebrate their academic excellence.

Prof Hentie van Wyk, Programme Director: School of Accounting, said, “FASSET funding will give the Centre for Accounting (as it was then called) an opportunity to strengthen our current student-centred teaching model”. This seemed like a prophecy, because at the beginning of 2017, the class of 2016 BAccHons students achieved a 96% pass rate in the 2017 Initial Test of Competence (ITC) examinations of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

Millions contributed towards accounting degrees
In 2017, Fasset sponsored 114 students on the Bloemfontein Campus with full bursaries amounting to more than R20 million through the Intrabas bursary fund for degree qualifications in BAccHons, BComHons (Acc), BAcc, BComAcc and BComAcc Extended programmes, as well as the tutorial programme managed by the School of Accountancy. On the Qwaqwa Campus, Fasset has given more than R7 million worth of funding.

James Veitch, Senior Officer: School of Accounting, said, “A decision was made to rather fund less students so that they could be assisted with greater effect, and students who did not qualify for the bursaries, would still be assisted through the support programme.”

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