2008 Awardee: Eve Smith

I am absolutely delighted to receive this award and express my most sincere thanks to the Trustees for supporting me in this way.

Biography

Glasgow-born Eve is very proud of her Polish heritage. Being both grandchild of immigrants and growing up with the presence of two cultures has informed her career ambitions and given her an international perspective on her work.

In June 1999 her local MP, Donald Dewar, presented Eve with the art prize at secondary school.

Eve graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2004 in Fine Art with an ambition to work in the visual arts. Since then she has won a number of awards, including in 2004 the John Kinross Travel Scholarship from the Royal Scottish Academy of Art. In 2007 Eve received a Personal Development Award from Project Scotland to visit Documenta 12 in Kassel, Germany.

After a series of voluntary placements in visual arts organisations, Eve worked for the National Galleries of Scotland as Assistant to the Director of Development and Communications where she demonstrated her enormous potential to become a curator as well as her ability to enthuse people with her interest in contemporary art.

Eve has been offered a place on the competitive MA in Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art in London, which is a highly international programme.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help to fund Eve’s studies in London.

Since the Award

A year later, Eve reported that her first year had been extremely busy, academically demanding and successful. She writes, “Being able to take up my place on this MA course has been a fantastic experience and has really developed every aspect of my thinking as a curator.”

After a further year’s study, Eve graduated from RCA with an MA in Curating Contemporary Art. In 2011 she will do a work placement in the curatorial department of the Sharjah Biennal, UAE.

Eve supported with the curation of our 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Roots to Shoots. Find out more here.

I am absolutely delighted to receive this award and express my most sincere thanks to the Trustees for supporting me in this way.