2009 Awardee: Fiona Mackay
Receiving this award allows me to participate in the Wiels Residency Program in Brussels, an opportunity that I would be unable to realise without the substantial financial support of the Dewar Arts Awards.
Biography
Aberdeen-born Fiona studied initially at the Glasgow School Art, from which she graduated with a degree in fine art painting. Since then, Fiona has worked as an artist, exhibiting in Scotland, England, Germany and Belgium.
Since graduating, Fiona was included in the well-regarded national competition, New Contemporaries, and has exhibited in the prestigious Timothy Taylor Gallery in London, both of which are testaments to the considerable promise her future work holds.
Fiona has played an integral part in the Glasgow art scene, both in contributing to exhibitions and in the establishment and programming of the gallery space Flat 0/1. Flat 0/1 provided a much-needed opportunity for a younger generation of Scottish artists to exhibit their work in a supportive, discursive atmosphere.
Fiona has been accepted onto the six-month Wiels Residency Program at the new contemporary arts centre in Brussels, which receives six young artists from throughout Europe for a programme of professional development and artistic dialogue. This residency will be of significant benefit to both Fiona’s standing internationally and as an emerging artist in Scotland.
How the Award Helped
The Dewar Arts Award will help Fiona take up this exciting opportunity.
Since the Award
Fiona writes that “while at Wiels, with the ability to gain a distance to my studio practice in Glasgow combined with a broad range of different influences and experiences from my peers, I found the ability to focus on elements of my work with a new sense of clarity and confidence.” Following the residency at Wiels, Fiona was invited to work as an artist in the studios of Komplot in Brussels and following on from that to participate in a month’s residency with Lokaal01 in Antwerp.
Receiving this award allows me to participate in the Wiels Residency Program in Brussels, an opportunity that I would be unable to realise without the substantial financial support of the Dewar Arts Awards.