2008 Awardee: Eoghainn MacLean

I would like to express my thanks to you all for giving me this award. You have allowed me to continue my dream and I am so grateful.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 17
ARTFORMS:
 
 
 

Biography

Glasgow born and bred Eoghainn has wanted to be a film director for as long as he can remember. As a child he watched film constantly, not just for the entertainment, but to observe and study it as an art-form. He would study the lighting, camera angles and all the other elements that created mood and drove the story.

Eoghainn writes his own short film scripts, but his real passion is in the visual side of storytelling. While at school he studied art and media studies and stood out as someone who had an intuitive understanding of the subject. Long-term, Eoghainn wants his unique artistic vision to have an impact on Scottish film in the future, and he has already shown that he has the talent, passion and commitment to achieve his goal.

He has been given an opportunity to start on that journey by gaining a place on the Digital Film-making Course at the SAE Institute in Glasgow.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will contribute towards Eoghainn’s costs to attend the SAE Institute.

Since the Award

At the end of the course, Eoghainn knew that his real interest lies in post-production, that is in editing or computer-based special effects work, and he hopes to pursue a career in this area.

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I would like to express my thanks to you all for giving me this award. You have allowed me to continue my dream and I am so grateful.

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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.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 26
ARTFORMS:
 
 
 

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.

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

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2008 Awardee: Fingal McKiernan

Can I ... say how delighted I am to have been selected for one of the awards. It was a surprise to me and words cannot express how thankful I am.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 23
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Dundee-born Fingal discovered a talent and passion for theatre at the age of 15, in particular for Shakespeare’s language and fantastical characters. He was a member of the National Youth Theatre from 2003-2006 and was their representative for the City of Edinburgh.

Fingal’s ideal job would be acting with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Already he has trained with actors from both the RSC and the National Theatre in London, has worked on television and, most recently, in the film ‘Hallam Foe’, starring Jamie Bell.

Before pursuing a career in acting, Fingal gained a science degree from Edinburgh University and, rather more romantically, worked as a spear fisherman in Greece as well as a crew member on boats operating out of the East Coast of Scotland. All of this has given him valuable life experience which he can put into future performances.

Fingal has gained a place on the postgraduate acting course at the Drama Studio, London, whose alumni include Forrest Whittaker and Emily Watson. The Drama Studio is particularly well-known for its exceptional training in classical acting, particularly in Fingal’s beloved Shakespeare. Fingal is considered to be highly talented, and already displays the instincts and artistic honesty of a professional actor.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help Fingal through his studies at the Drama Studio, London.

Since the Award

Since graduating, Fingal has appeared in two stage plays, played the lead in a WW1 feature film and in a new play for BBC radio. Following these jobs, he has been signed up by an agent. Fingal writes that the support from the Dewar Arts Awards, “has given me the opportunity to realise my dreams. I cannot express the feeling of gratitude I have in words..”

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Can I ... say how delighted I am to have been selected for one of the awards. It was a surprise to me and words cannot express how thankful I am.

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2008 Awardee: Fiona Scott

I am very grateful for the generosity of the Dewar Arts Awards towards my studies next year at the RSAMD.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 29
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Lancashire-born Fiona started her studies at the RNCM in Manchester. She moved to Scotland in 2006 to pursue postgraduate opera studies at the RSAMD.

Fiona has the rare voice type of a dramatic soprano and has her sights set on specialising in the Germanic repertoire. She is still considered young for her voice type, which needs maturity of voice to develop to its full potential.

Fiona’s tutors describe her voice as ‘thrilling’. In 2008 she received the Wagner Society of Scotland Bayreuth Bursary which funded a study trip to Bayreuth, including attendance at 3 operas. She has had masterclasses with John Tomlinson and Jane Eglen which both demonstrated her potential as a dramatic soprano. She was also awarded the coveted RSAMD Governor’s Prize for Singing. In her first year at RSAMD Fiona sang the role of First Prioress in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award helps Fiona during the final year on the RSAMD opera course.

Since the Award

During the year, Fiona performed in several concerts, participated in a master class with Wagnerian tenor, Ian Storey, and was a semi-finalist in the Bayreuth Wagner Competition. Her roles in RSAMD productions as Fata Morgana in The Love for Three Oranges and the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos were described as ‘a triumph’.

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I am very grateful for the generosity of the Dewar Arts Awards towards my studies next year at the RSAMD.

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2008 Awardee: Fraser Russell

The Award will greatly help me towards the cost and will allow me to get a far better instrument than I could afford without your assistance.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 19
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Fraser, who hails from Carnoustie, started to play the tuba at the age of 14. He was accepted onto the RSAMD Junior Academy which is designed to encourage young musicians of talent and is now in his second year studying music at the RSAMD proper.

Fraser’s ambition is to be an orchestral player. He has already worked for a number of Scottish and European orchestras, including the NYOS, European Brass Band and most recently with the St Petersburg Ballet orchestra on their recent European tour. He is a recent winner of the RSNO tuba apprenticeship scheme.

The combination of Fraser’s natural talent and self-drive has got him noticed at RSAMD. Whilst still only in his second year, he is frequently chosen to play principal tuba in the RSAMD’s first orchestra and its signature ‘Academy Brass’ ensemble, which has built a considerable reputation throughout Scotland.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award has helped Fraser purchase a CC tuba, an expensive but essential part of a tuba player’s equipment.

Since the Award

After getting his new CC tuba, Fraser auditioned for, and won, an apprenticeship with the Scottish Opera, enabling him to sit with the brass section of the orchestra. He was told after his audition that part of his success was due to having the right instrument, that is one which could play the bigger, operatic repertoire. Fraser then moved on to an apprenticeship with the RSNO, confident in the knowledge that he had the right instrument to play the repertoire. This has all contributed to him gaining the confidence in the professional setting.

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The Award will greatly help me towards the cost and will allow me to get a far better instrument than I could afford without your assistance.

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2006 Awardee: Helen Cuinn

Thank you .. for the award … I’ll look forward to writing the report!

YEAR OF AWARD: 2006
AGE AT AWARD: 25
ARTFORMS:
WEBSITE:https://www.helencuinn.com
 
 

Biography

Dunfermline-based Helen Cuinn trained in Contemporary Theatre Practice at the RSAMD, graduating in 2007. Her interest in drama dates back to the age of 10 when she joined the wonderfully-named drama class ‘Terrifically Adventurous Youth Theatre’. She was spotted then as a potential performance talent.

Helen now uses a whole spectrum of art forms in the work she carries out, including digital/web art, performance poetry, visual arts, Scots song, video art, theatre design, dance/movement, site specific interventions and installation. She has recently completed a Scottish tour of her critically-acclaimed one woman show ‘Hoose and Hame’ on the theme of home and identity. In this show, Helen demonstrates her impressive talents as writer and performer who has a very clear idea of what she is conveying.

Helen was invited to create a new work-in-progress for the 2008 Arches Live Festival, which showcases experimental theatre, live art and hybrid performance forms. As well as winning a Dewar Arts Award, Helen has been selected for two creative residencies at CCA and DanceHouse where she will develop this material for eventual solo performance of ‘The Hair of my Head is Dead’. For more information about Helen’s work, see www.helencuinn.com.

How the Award Helped

The award was given to help with the staging of Helen’s new play ‘The Hair on My Head is Dead’.

Since the Award

The award funded Helen to develop her ideas, including having a wig made of her own hair, and create a performance ‘Hair I Am’ which was shown at the 2009 Glasgay Festival as an invited artist. Since then, Helen has won other support and an award for the Best Marketing Campaign. She continues to work in, and contribute to, the vibrant arts scene in Glasgow.

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Thank you .. for the award … I’ll look forward to writing the report!

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2008 Awardee: Jack Fawcett

It is a fantastic opportunity to be offered a place to study percussion at the Royal College in London and this award is going to make that possible.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 17
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Jack started playing percussion at the age of 15 and made remarkable progress in a short space of time. For the last two years of his schooling, he studied percussion at the Aberdeen City Music School where he had a master class with Evelyn Glennie.

At the age of 16, Jack joined the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, which is a rare distinction. In 2008 he performed with NYO in the Roundhouse, London, Leeds Town Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, the Sage Gateshead, Snape Maltings and the London Barbican under Vasily Petrenko. He also played at the Royal Albert Hall under Anatoly Papanov as part of the BBC Proms.

Jack is also a member of the Aberdeen Youth Orchestra, the Grampian Youth Orchestra and the Aberdeen Sinfonietta. In 2008 he won the 18 and under percussion and snare drum classes in the North East of Scotland Music Festival and was runner up in the Ishoka Young Musician of the Year competition.

Jack’s ambition is to become a solo percussionist.  His teachers feel that he has the winning combination of huge talent and hard work to get him to the top of his profession.

How the Award Helped

Jack was offered a place to study percussion by a number of UK Conservatoires and chose to take up a place at the Royal College of Music in London. The Dewar Arts Award will help to cover the substantial expenses to study in London. His award has been extended for a second year, and subsequently for a third.

Since the Award

After a successful third year, Jack’s support has been extended into his final year.  His most exciting achievement last year was winning the extensive (worldwide) audition process to perform timpani in the latest Lexus car advertisement featuring Kylie Minogue. He doesn’t say whether he met the singer, but he did get the chance to work with some of the greatest drummers in the world, including The Taiko Drummers of Japan and Cold Steel Drum Line from North Carolina amongst many others.

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It is a fantastic opportunity to be offered a place to study percussion at the Royal College in London and this award is going to make that possible.

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2008 Awardee: Jack Henry

I would again like to thank you for my award, allowing me to progress and develop fully into a classical dancer.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 16
ARTFORMS:
 
 
 

Biography

Glasgow-based Jack started  learning to dance at a dance school in Renfrewshire. During his time there he was selected for both the Scottish Ballet’s Junior Associates Scheme and the Royal Ballet School’s Mid-Associate Scheme, showing his early promise.

Jack progressed to the Dance School of Scotland in Knightswood, where he continued to develop his natural aptitude and physical potential for classical ballet. He shone amongst his peers, progressing well through the RAD examinations. When he started training in contemporary dance Jack continued to show his aptitude and potential for other dance disciplines, scoring consistently high marks. During his school years Jack would regularly leave home at 7.30 in the morning and often not return before 10 pm if rehearsing for a show.

Jack has successfully auditioned for a place at the prestigious Elmhurst School for Dance in Birmingham, which has close links to the Royal Birmingham Ballet. However, Jack has his sights firmly set on joining the Scottish Ballet when he has finished his training. He was successful in being awarded a Dance and Drama Award to help with the costs of his training.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award has helped towards the balance of the costs for Jack to train at Elmhurst School of Dance.

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I would again like to thank you for my award, allowing me to progress and develop fully into a classical dancer.

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2008 Awardee: James Wood

I am delighted to accept this award … it will prove to be of great assistance to my studies.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 24
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

From Stonehaven, James graduated from Gray’s School of Art in 2007 where he studied painting and drawing.   He has a wonderful natural gift as a visual artist, excelling in painting, drawing and sculpture.

On graduation, James’s ambition was to train and work in 3D computer animation. His gift in traditional drawing techniques will be an enormous advantage in this field of work. James was accepted onto the highly-regarded Masters course at Bournemouth University, which, he writes, is the ‘perfect platform’ from which to launch himself into the competitive arena of film and video game production.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help pay towards the costs of attending this course.

Since the Award

Jamie graduated with distinction in 2009. A film of his final Masters project can be viewed on his website at www.jamiewoodart.com.

He writes, “I still feel the same passionate drive that I had one year ago to pursue a career in this area and I am extremely grateful to the Dewar Awards for the fact that I am now equipped with the skills and experience needed to break into this competitive industry. With the UK in its current position as one of the world leaders in the development of film and computer game digital content, I am now in the position of being able to represent Scotland by initially seeking a 3D artist job here in the UK.”

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I am delighted to accept this award … it will prove to be of great assistance to my studies.

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2008 Awardee: Jemma McMonagle

Jemma and I were absolutely delighted to receive your letter informing us that [she] has been successful in her application to purchase a harp. We would like to express our sincere thanks to the trustees for making Jemma a very happy girl! (Eileen McMonagle, mother)

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 14
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Fourteen-year-old Jemma from Glasgow got involved in playing traditional music at the age of six.  She demonstrated a fine musicianship from the start  and has the ability to play a number of instruments with stunning sensitivity and maturity for her age.

Jemma is a talented fiddle player, having gained notable competitive success including several All-Britain titles in both solo and group competitions and a coveted All-Ireland gold medal in the Under 12 section. For the past two years, as part of ‘The Southside Fiddlers’ and at the invitation of well-known Irish fiddler, Liz Doherty, Jemma has performed at the Buncrana Festival in Co. Donegal.

It is on the small harp, however, that Jemma shines, her playing has been described as ‘magical’. Within a year of starting to learn the harp, she came second in the Scottish championships which qualified her to represent Scotland in the 2008 Great Britain championships. Since then, Jemma has played at many Celtic and Scottish traditional festivals and concerts, wowing the audiences with her talent.

How the Award Helped

The only barrier to her development is the lack of her own harp. The Dewar Arts Award will enable her to purchase a good-quality instrument.

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Jemma and I were absolutely delighted to receive your letter informing us that [she] has been successful in her application to purchase a harp. We would like to express our sincere thanks to the trustees for making Jemma a very happy girl! (Eileen McMonagle, mother)

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