Kara Schoeman
Kara Schoeman is a Free State based artist who specialises mostly in sculpture, installations and video projections. She is a Fine Art Guest Lecturer at the University of the Free State's Bloemfontein campus, a Psychology fascilitator at the same University's Qwaqwa campus and recently received her Honours degree in Art Therapy (cumlaude) from the University of Johannesburg. She is currently completing her Masters degree in Art Therapy, she forms part of the very first cohort of Art Therapy students in South Africa. The works we see from her deals with the extinction of various species and the impact that extinction has on the human Psyche. She creates intricate metal art through recycling aluminium. She melts down various auto-motor parts, and then cast it into detailed functional artworks.
Schoeman graduated with a BA Fine Art Degree (Cum laude) from the University of the Free State in 2016. Thereafter she graduated with a BA Honours degree in Psychology at the University of the Free State in 2017. She achieved her Honours degree in Art therapy with cumlaude in 2021. During her studies, Schoeman was awarded the best Fine Art student of her year group for two consecutive years. She was also awarded the best over all Art History student in 2015. Graduating her BA Fine Art degree with distinction. She has exhibited her work in numerous galleries such as the Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery, Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Map Gallery, UJ Art Gallery, Young Blood Art Gallery, Gallery on Leviseur, ABSA Gallery, Art@Clocktower Gallery, Art@Africa and Design Indaba.
Schoeman is currently a Guest Lecturer at the Fine Art department of the University of the Free State. She is also a Facilitator at the University of the Free State’s Psychology Department. Schoeman runs an Educational sculpture casting foundry where she teaches the youth of Clarens’ Township Kgubetswana how to cast sculptures out of scrap metal.
In the past Schoeman has curated and co-curated a few exhibitions. She worked as a Gallery Assistant at the Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery during 2015 to 2017. She has been employed by the University of the Free State for many years, as a Junior Lecturer in Fine Art during 2020, a Student Assistant to first and second year Fine Art Students from 2014 to 2017. As a Lecture Assistant for Bed education students in their Art and Culture Modules in 2016 and 2017. And she Tutored the second year Art history and Image studies students in 2017.
AWARDS & PRIZES
2014 Golden Key International Honour Society Award
2015 Award for best second year Fine Art student
Finalist PPC Imaginarium Art Competition
2016 Award for best third year Fine Art student
Award for best overall Art History student
Finalist Phatsohane Henney New Breed Art Competition
2017 Award for best fourth year Fine Art student
2018 Awarded third place for "Aluminium bowl" at InniBos National Craft Awards
2018 Finalist L'Atelier Art Competition
2018 Finalist Phatsohane Henney New Breed Art Competition
2019 Design Indaba, Emerging Creatives class of 2019
2020 National Art Council Grant Holder: Clarens Metal Foundry Educational project: Metal Sculpture Casting for Youth in need
2021 House and Garden magazine: Women shaping design 2021
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2013 “Fracking”, Map, Richmond Gallery, Richmond Northern Cape
2014 “Oculus”, Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery, Bloemfontein,
2014 “PPC Imaginarium, Finalists Exhibition”, UJ Art gallery, Johannesburg
2015 μερáκi (May-rah-kee), Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery, Bloemfontein (as artist and co-curator)
2015 Design Indaba, Annual Expo, Cape Town International Convention Centre
2015 “The Shift of Emancipation” Social Justice and Reconciliation Institute, UFS, Bloemfontein
2015 “PPC Imaginarium Award and Exhibition”, Young Blood Art Gallery, Cape Town
2016 “Motswako | Miscellany | Mengelmoes”, Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery, Bloemfontein
2016 “Phatsoane Henney New Breed Art Competition, Finalists Exhibition”, Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein
2017 “Graduates, Annual Final Year Student Exhibition”, Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery, Bloemfontein (as artist and co-curator)
2018 “Dwell in Possibilities”, Gallery On Leviseur, Bloemfontein (as artist and co-curator)
2018 “Flux” Free State Art Festival. Winner of Visual Art Award of 2018 at Vrystaat Art Festival Awards
2018 “Absa L’Atelier” ABSA Gallery, Johannesburg
2018 “Phatsoane Henney New Breed Art Competition, Finalists Exhibition”, Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein
2018 “Under the Sea”, GalleryOne11, Cape Town
2019 “Betwixt & Between”, Free State Art Festival, Bloemfontein
2019 “Free State Art Collective”, RMP Turbine art fair, Johannesburg
2019 “Art@Africa”, RMP Turbine art fair, Johannesburg
2019 “Weapons of Mass Seduction”, Art@Clocktower Gallery, Cape Town
2020 "Blue dot exhibition", Online exhibition hosted by Art@Africa
2020 "Grounded" Online exhibition, Vrystroom, Free State Arts Festival
2020 Curator of "Grounded exhibition" Vrystroom, Free State Arts Festival
2021 “Emotion”, ABSA Gallery, Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees
2022 "The big art gallery", The Aesthete, The old mushroom farm, Midlands Kwazulu-Natal
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
2013 “Vreking”, Map, Richmond Gallery, Richmond Northern Cape
2016 “Quantum Mechanics: Double slit experiment” Phatshoane Henney Attorneys
2018 “Cell Division” Phatshoane Henney Attorneys, Bloemfontein
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Numerous throughout RSA, USA, NZ, UK, Europe & Canada