2011 Awardee: Jordan Blackwood

I would like to send a deep thank you to the trustees...your support is deeply valued and I cannot thank you enough for it.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2011
AGE AT AWARD: 18
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Renfrewshire born and bred Jordan was a pupil at Johnstone High School. At an early age he joined the Paisley-based PACE Youth Theatre, where for many years he was an enthusiastic member, rising through the ranks to become a Drama Worker during his Gap year. During that time he also trained in acting and voice at the Spires Theatre School, the training wing of PACE Youth Theatre. It was here that he was introduced to theatre directing.

Over the years, Jordan has developed a broad knowledge of theatre and arts and is considered to be a young Scottish theatre director of great potential. As well as directing the classics, he has written and produced much of his own work.

Jordan is considered both talented and creatively inspiring and has strong foundations to become an exciting theatre director and practitioner. He will add an exciting new voice to Scottish theatre.

Jordan has been accepted to study theatre practice: performance arts at Central School of Speech and Drama in London. He writes that he is “very passionate ….about the theatre/arts [and] ..very excited about beginning my studies at one of the best drama schools in the UK.” His aim is to become a theatre director of note.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help with the first year of his studies at CSSD.

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I would like to send a deep thank you to the trustees...your support is deeply valued and I cannot thank you enough for it.

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2011 Awardee: Natalie Montakhab

I am extremely grateful for your support. Without your careful consideration and assistance I would not be able to fully pursue my career in the Arts and I thank you once again for your generosity.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2011
AGE AT AWARD: 23
ARTFORMS: ,
WEBSITE:https://www.nataliemontakhab.com/
EMAIL:natalie@nataliemontakhab.com
TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/NatalieSoprano

Biography

In 2001, Lancashire-born Natalie came to Glasgow to study singing at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly: RSAMD). After a spell at the Royal Academy of Music from 2007-2009 to continue postgraduate study in singing, and for which she was supported by a Dewar Arts Award, Natalie returned to Glasgow to undertake a MMus (Opera) at the Opera School. During that time she received glowing reviews for her accomplished performances in fully-staged RSAMD productions.

Natalie began singing in a school choir after being turned down by the coach of the school netball team. Fortunately, her talent was soon spotted and encouraged.

Throughout her career she has won scholarships, competitions and awards to support her studies.  Her opera debut was at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival in Purcell’s ‘Dido and Aeneas’ under Nicolas McGegan.

Natalie has been invited to join the newly-formed Welsh International Academy of Voice to prepare for her launch into a professional career in opera, where she will study with Dame Kiri te Kanawa and Renee Fleming, amongst other luminaries from the world of opera.

Natalie is considered to have a beautiful and individual vocal timbre. She is an accomplished musician and a sensitive and compelling performer on the concert platform as well as the opera stage who has developed into an extremely fine artist and singer.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help Natalie financially at the WIAV during this final stage of her vocal studies.

Opera Squad 2012 from English National Opera on Vimeo.

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I am extremely grateful for your support. Without your careful consideration and assistance I would not be able to fully pursue my career in the Arts and I thank you once again for your generosity.

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2011 Awardee: Kirsty Hendry

I would be delighted to accept your offer of an award. My sincere thanks to trustees for their generous support.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2011
AGE AT AWARD: 23
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

From Scone in Perthshire, Kirsty graduated from art college in Aberdeen with a first-class degree in printmaking. As a second-year student she was nominated for The Cross Trust Study Vacation Award which enabled her to attend a papermaking course in Takashima, Japan. In her third year she was selected to take part in the Peacock Visual Arts Internship Programme where she worked with and assisted the master printers. At that time she stood out as more focussed and talented than her peers.

Her final degree was visually brilliant and critically engaging and Kirsty is considered to have the potential to become a leader in the field of print-making in the future. After graduation, she won a coveted place at the RCA to study for a Master of Printmaking. She went to the RCA with the clear objective to push her work in a new a challenging direction. This has been realised as she saw her work going in new, exciting and previously unexplored territories.

Kirsty feels that printmaking is an art form which is becoming increasingly marginalised and her ambition is to return to Scotland and invest her printmaking skills into the Scottish art scene. Changes in her family circumstances threatened to put a halt to Kirsty’s exciting career.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award enabled Kirsty to complete her MA in Printmaking.

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I would be delighted to accept your offer of an award. My sincere thanks to trustees for their generous support.

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2011 Awardee: Philip Todd

Please accept my heartfelt thanks to the trustees …for this generous award and the opportunity it provides for my further development.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2011
AGE AT AWARD: 20
ARTFORMS: ,
WEBSITE:https://www.philip-todd.com/
EMAIL:info@philip-todd.com
TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/phil_todd

Biography

Born in Fife and brought up in Caithness, Philip graduated from RSAMD with a degree in digital film and television and the Paul Kelly Memorial Award. Philip possesses a wide range of talents and skills and is ‘something of a Renaissance man’ according to one of his former tutors, in that he sings, plays a musical instrument, dances, acts, aspires to direct films and speaks Gaelic.

While a student film-maker at RSAMD he was able to take part in drama workshops led by many well-known actors and directors, including Sir Richard Attenborough and James McAvoy.

As part of his degree Philip worked with actors on many film scenes as well as directing scenes in workshop. As a student film maker he has studied acting for screen techniques and while at RSAMD, wrote, directed and appeared in a number of personally-initiated projects, some of which were in the Gaelic language. Philip’s ultimate ambition is to combine acting for screen with film directing. He was accepted by Central School of Speech and Drama, London to study acting for screen.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award helped fund Philip through an MA in Acting for Screen at the Central School of Speech and Drama, London.

Philip Todd Actor Showreel from Philip Todd on Vimeo.

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Please accept my heartfelt thanks to the trustees …for this generous award and the opportunity it provides for my further development.

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2011 Awardee: Natalie Ibu

[While in New York] I will take every opportunity to fully immerse myself in the sector including seeing work, attending classes, talks and seminars, meeting artists and exploring opportunities for future professional engagement.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2011
AGE AT AWARD: 27
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Edinburgh born and raised, Natalie graduated from De Montfort University in 2004 with a first-class degree in theatre with arts management. From there she went on to New Perspectives as a trainee director for a year, supported by an Arts Council, East Midlands bursary. After a spell at Contact Theatre, Manchester, Natalie went on to win a Resident Traineeship at the Royal Court Theatre against considerable competition (which is the most sought-after traineeship in the UK), supported by an ITV Directors Scheme bursary. Later she did directors’ traineeships the Old Vic and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Since graduation, Natalie has worked as Assistant Director with such diverse theatre companies as (amongst others): New Perspectives Theatre, Citizen’s Theatre and the Royal Court, and later, as Director with Old Vic New Voices/Waterloo East, Young Vic, Traverse, Royal Lyceum (Youth Theatre), Jersey Arts Centre and Vineyard Theatre, NYC. In 2010/11 she was the inaugural Associate Director (Warehouse) for HighTide.

Currently Natalie is Artistic Director of her own company We Were Here, a creative ensemble for emerging practitioners seeking to develop their craft through experimentation and exploration.

Natalie was offered a 3-month artist residency by the prestigious New York Theatre Workshop. She writes of this opportunity: “I will join their Emerging Artist of Colour Fellowship Programme [which] will allow me access to resources, professional development opportunities and mentorship. Being based in New York … will provide me with a currency to make relationships with other venues and practitioners.”

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards will help finance this exciting opportunity for Natalie.

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[While in New York] I will take every opportunity to fully immerse myself in the sector including seeing work, attending classes, talks and seminars, meeting artists and exploring opportunities for future professional engagement.

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2011 Awardee: Roslyn Paterson

YEAR OF AWARD: 2011
AGE AT AWARD: 23
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Gourock-born Roslyn has been interested in acting since her school-days when she impressed with her natural talent. For five years, she was an active member of the Inverclyde Youth Theatre (Kayos Theatre Company), where she was cast in many leading roles to great acclaim.

While a pupil at James Watt College in Greenock Roslyn achieved an A grade in Acting and Performance and subsequently won a place at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London part-funded by a Dance and Drama Award. She is studying for both a BA in Acting and a Diploma in Professional Acting at Trinity College, London. Roslyn is considered to be a huge talent not just in acting, but also in dance and singing.

Roslyn is entering the final year of her studies at ALRA.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help towards the additional costs of the final year of study.

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2011 Awardee: Samantha Doherty

I would like to say a huge thanks to the trustees for this award. It is deeply appreciated and will help me concentrate on my dance studies without having to worry.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2011
AGE AT AWARD: 18
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Hailing from Edinburgh, Samantha was awarded a scholarship to study at The Dance School of Scotland when she was twelve years old. While at The Dance School, she won a choreography competition which offered as a prize the chance of a life-time to study in Australia for 3 weeks.

Samantha is very versatile in all the genres of dance – classical ballet, contemporary dance and jazz – and is dedicated to a career in dance and performance.

She won a scholarship place at the well-known Bird College in Kent, to study dance and musical theatre performance for three years.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will offer financial support towards the costs to study at Bird College.

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I would like to say a huge thanks to the trustees for this award. It is deeply appreciated and will help me concentrate on my dance studies without having to worry.

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2011 Awardee: Sandy Smith

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the trustees .... I can continue this fantastic opportunity for creative growth and professional advancement that I worked so hard to open up.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2011
AGE AT AWARD: 27
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Dunbar-born Sandy Smith graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 2005 with a first class degree in sculpture. While still an undergraduate he shone as an exceptionally gifted artist, dedicated, highly motivated and innovative. Sandy is considered to be one of the most exciting, intelligent and committed contemporary artists to emerge through the Glasgow art scene in the last ten years.

After graduation, he spent the next five years participating in over 40 exhibitions across Europe and the USA exploring ideals of melancholic romance, human/artistic striving and exuberant optimism. He has developed a respected profile as one of the important and influential artists of his generation. In 2007 he won a Dewar Arts Award to help fund a solo exhibition in Glasgow.

Sandy is currently a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University where he is pursuing an MFA in Visual Art. Since moving to New York he has worked with the language of attainment to test the veracity of the positive claims of contemporary art and personal development. For further information about Sandy’s work, see www.sandysmith.co.uk.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will enable him to complete his two-year MFA degree.

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I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the trustees .... I can continue this fantastic opportunity for creative growth and professional advancement that I worked so hard to open up.

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2011 Awardee: Stephanie Ward

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for such an honourable award. I am sure this award will help me develop myself as an animator and will allow me to pursue the career I desire.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2011
AGE AT AWARD: 22
ARTFORMS: ,
WEBSITE:https://stephanie-ward.daportfolio.com/
 
 

Biography

Born and brought up in Greenock, Stephanie exhibited a self-portrait in the McLean Museum, Greenock while still at high school. She went on to study digital art at the University of West of Scotland. Her degree show was exhibited in Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts.
Stephanie is aiming for a career as an animator. She had an internship as a comic book inker in Glasgow and, unpaid, for Picasso Pictures in London, both of which inspired her to develop her skills in dynamic figure drawing and character development.

More unpaid work followed as she designed a comic for an independent writer in the USA and then carried out a concept design for a small games company also in the USA.

The hard work paid off and she won a place on the MA in Character Animation course at Central St Martins, London, one of the leading art schools in Europe. She was the only Scot to have gained a place on the course this year.

https://stephsanimationblog.myblog.arts.ac.uk/

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help support Stephanie through the first year of her postgraduate studies.

Ariel and Caliban.mov from Stephanie Ward on Vimeo.

Final animation from Stephanie’s studies at Central Saint Martins

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I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for such an honourable award. I am sure this award will help me develop myself as an animator and will allow me to pursue the career I desire.

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2011 Awardee: Timothy Cooper

I will endeavour to use the opportunities you have made possible to the best of my ability. I am extremely proud that your fantastic organisation has chosen to support me and would like to thank all of the trustees for their generosity.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2011
AGE AT AWARD: 23
ARTFORMS: ,
WEBSITE:https://www.timothy-cooper.co.uk/
 
 

Biography

Originally from Darlington, Timothy moved to Scotland in 2006 to complete his undergraduate music studies in Euphonium performance. He continues his studies in music and composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland working towards a postgraduate master of composition degree.

His first year was successful in that his work was performed both in Australia and in the UK. Timothy’s particular passion is to work across art forms and he has completed the sound design for Joshua Armstrong’s The Sounding, for the National Youth Theatre’s workshop production Razia Sultan and for a short film by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland students working in film and TV. He has also been selected by the Conservatoire to compose a piece for a group at the Paris Conservatoire. The piece will be performed in both Paris and Stuttgart.

Timothy is admired by performers and mentors for his combination of great talent and energy in making things happen. He co-founded the successful group edit point which is making great headway in Scotland and further afield.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Awards will provide the financial support Timothy needs in order to complete his masters degree.

Friction: Commissioned by Diaphonique, Franco-British Fund for Contemporary Music De Profundis, trombone, tuba and percussion ensemble Clément Carpentier, conducting recorded at Saint-Louis des Invalides, Paris, February, 2. 2012 sound engineer : Alice Legros

Shimmering: Performed by Jonathan Morton

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I will endeavour to use the opportunities you have made possible to the best of my ability. I am extremely proud that your fantastic organisation has chosen to support me and would like to thank all of the trustees for their generosity.

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