A travelling exhibition celebrating the work of acclaimed South African artist, writer and poet Peter E. Clarke will be presented at the University of the Free State during Heritage month, inviting audiences to reflect on education, inequality, access and resilience.

The University of the Free State (UFS), in partnership with the William Humphreys Art Gallery (WHAG), presents For Some, the Pathway to Education Lies Between Thorns, a solo exhibition of works by celebrated South African artist, writer and poet Peter E. Clarke.

The exhibition, now in its fourth iteration, will be on view at the Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus from 2 September to 2 October 2026.

The opening reception takes place on 2 September 2026 at 18h00, with a walkabout led by the curator Chepape Makgato, Chief Curator of WHAG, on 3 September 2026 at 11h00.

Drawing predominantly from the collection of WHAG, with additional works from the Polokwane Art Museum and private collections, the exhibition brings together linocuts, woodcuts, paintings, watercolours and personal letters. Collectively, these works explore education as a lived journey shaped by geography, history, class and social inequality.

At the heart of the exhibition is Clarke’s 2008 work For Some, the Pathway to Education Lies Between Thorns, which gives the exhibition its title. The work draws on observations made earlier in his career during visits to rural communities, where Clarke encountered children travelling long distances to attend school.

His attention to these journeys extended beyond the physical distance travelled. Clarke was interested in the social and spatial conditions that made such journeys necessary – and in the invisible structures that determine who has access to opportunity, mobility and education.

Born in Simon’s Town in 1929, Clarke grew up under racial segregation and later apartheid. In 1972, he was forcibly removed to Ocean View under the Group Areas Act. These experiences informed his lifelong engagement with themes of displacement, belonging and social inequality.

Despite systemic marginalisation and limited access to formal education, Clarke developed an influential artistic practice that earned national and international recognition. His honours included the Order of Ikhamanga (Silver), awarded by President Thabo Mbeki in 2005 for his contribution to South African arts and literature, and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

For Clarke, however, artistic success was not defined by accolades. He believed in the ability of art to communicate, circulate and contribute meaningfully to public life – an ethos reflected in the exhibition’s continued movement between institutions and communities.

The exhibition’s themes remain particularly relevant in contemporary South Africa. While the country has undergone significant political transformation, many learners, especially in rural and underserved communities, continue to encounter barriers to education, including long travel distances, inadequate infrastructure, limited access to basic services and under-resourced schools.

Rather than presenting these conditions as isolated or exceptional, Clarke’s work places them within the everyday realities of people’s lives. His distinctive visual language combines traditional artmaking techniques with a modern sensibility, capturing ordinary life with empathy, restraint and quiet resistance.

The exhibition’s journey across institutions further reflects its central themes of access, circulation and public engagement. It was first presented at WHAG in August 2023, as the inaugural curatorial project following Chepape Makgato’s appointment as Chief Curator earlier that year. It subsequently travelled to Springs Art Gallery from November 2023 to February 2024, before returning to WHAG and then moving to the UNISA Art Gallery in 2026.

At UFS, the exhibition offers audiences an opportunity to encounter Clarke’s work within an academic environment and to consider the relationship between art, education and society.

For Some, the Pathway to Education Lies Between Thorns ultimately affirms Clarke’s enduring belief in art’s capacity to communicate across generations and contexts. It is an exhibition about the distance people travel to access knowledge – and about the resilience required to keep moving forward.

Exhibition details

Dates: 2 September – 2 October 2026
Venue: Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery, Sasol Library, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein Campus
Address: 206 Nelson Mandela Avenue, Bloemfontein
Gallery hours: Monday–Friday, 09:00–16:00
Entrance: Free
Enquiries: 051 401 2706 | artgallery@ufs.ac.za