2008 Awardee: Lynne MacLachlan

I am very grateful for this help, without which I would not be able to undertake my studies at the Royal College of Art.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 27
ARTFORMS: , ,
 
 
 

Biography

Paisley-born Lynne MacLachlan is one of several jewellers supported by a Dewar Arts Award. Graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College, Lynne won both a Goldsmith Precious Metal Bursary and a Cross Trust Vacation Award in her final year at college.

Lynne’s work intriguingly weaves together such disparate areas as craft and computing, mathematics and nature and she creates exquisite and wearable jewellery from shapes normally associated with biological organisms, as referenced in the work of D’Arcy Thompson.

Lynne is also winner of the Scottish International Education Trust’s Visual Arts Prize which is given to a student at a Scottish art college. A piece of her work has been purchased by the Dundee University Museum. Lynne is a jeweller whose future is assured.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award is helping to fund Lynne through the first year of an MA at Royal College of Art in London. During the year she was short-listed for the Argent Young Jewellry Designer of the Year.

Since the Award

Lynne’s work was showcased in our 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Roots to shoots. Find out more here.

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I am very grateful for this help, without which I would not be able to undertake my studies at the Royal College of Art.

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2008 Awardee: Lynsey Murdoch

I am absolutely delighted to formally accept the award .. for the completion of my film ‘Eat Me’.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 27
ARTFORMS: , , ,
 
 
 

Biography

Hailing from Cambuslang, Lynsey has been given an Award to concentrate on writing and producing her film ‘Eat Me’, about a young Scottish woman suffering from an eating disorder. As a past sufferer of bulimia, Lynsey knows a lot about the fear and obsession that can inhabit someone with an eating disorder.

Lynsey has proven writing and acting talent and was described as a ‘… new star of Scottish Theatre in the making’ for her performance in ‘Mad Cow’ at the Arches Theatre in Glasgow. In 2006 she was selected by the Playwright’s Studio Scotland for their mentoring scheme. During that time, Lynsey impressed by her commitment and the way in which she found her own voice and unique way of telling her story. Lynsey’s forte is in portraying issues which are affecting young people in society today, with an acute sense of observation and humour.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award is supporting Lynsey as she develops as a writer and performer

Since the Award

Lynsey describes the experience of writing and acting in her short film ‘Eat Me’ as “an absolute turning point” in her career.  The film was shot in May 2009 and completed later that year. It will be submitted to film festivals in the UK and worldwide.

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I am absolutely delighted to formally accept the award .. for the completion of my film ‘Eat Me’.

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2008 Awardee: Malcy Duff

Thank you so much, this means a great deal and will help my work considerably in the next year. . …. it is going to give me opportunities that I wouldn't have had without it.

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

Biography

Born and brought up in Edinburgh, Malcy Duff published his first comic, ‘Zero Termite’, when he was 19. He is now one of Scotland’s best-regarded independent cartoonists, and his work has been described as ‘oblique, grotesque and at times downright eye-poppingly scary’. He himself has been described as ‘visionary and pioneering’.

Malcy trained in illustration at Telford College. After graduation he worked as a cartoonist and started producing and selling comics. In those ten years Malcy has gained a reputation within the genre and has developed a keen following and an interest in his work. He doesn’t attempt to explain his work, preferring to let people think for themselves, as he puts it, ‘I respect my readership by not caring what they think of my work.’

Malcy’s work sits squarely within the fine UK tradition of self-produced underground comics. He has exhibited his work throughout the UK and internationally, and in particular, has received acclaim for his exhibitions at London’s Institute of Contemporary Art. With the help of a grant in 2007, Malcy set up his publishing house, Missing Twin, and released the first comic The Blackest Gnome, which was inspired by the cancellation of the last Black And White Minstrel Show in Scotland.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will enable Malcy to produce a body of work to exhibit at the MOCCA comic convention this year and to develop his talent as a cartoonist.

Since the Award

Malcy writes that the award “made it possible for me to concentrate on my work first and foremost, relieving the financial strain making it easier to accomplish what I had put in front of myself for my planned year’s work…..[and that it made] possible for me to fulfil the promise I made to myself of really exploring fully what a website can do for me, how it can help my work and my publishing house. This project is now an ongoing concern and will continue to assist my work as I stretch myself creatively.”

For more information about Malcy’s work, see his website: www.missingtwin.net.

Malcy’s work was showcased as part of our 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Roots to Shoots. Find out more here.

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Thank you so much, this means a great deal and will help my work considerably in the next year. . …. it is going to give me opportunities that I wouldn't have had without it.

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2008 Awardee: Maryam Sheran

I am writing to thank the trustees for my Dewar Arts Award. It will help me tremendously, and I am extremely grateful.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 22
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Born and brought up in Aberdeenshire, Maryam learnt to play the piano at the age of six and the violin when she was seven. She enjoys playing both classical and traditional music on both instruments, and over the years has won many local competitions in both genres, including the Alex Watters Memorial Award for piano in 2002.

Maryam began studying jazz piano at Strathclyde University, where she gained an honours degree in applied music. She performed a jazz piano piece for her degree recital in 2006, which was considered one of the best recitals of the year. Maryam has always enjoyed piano accompanying and has gone on to study for a postgraduate diploma in piano accompanist at RSAMD in order to develop as an accompanist as well as a solo pianist.

Maryam has a big, natural talent for the piano and a love for music that comes across powerfully in her playing. Her ability to empathise and support will help her to develop the potential that she possesses to become an exceptional accompanist.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help Maryam pursue a Postgraduate Diploma in Piano Accompaniment.

Since the Award

Maryam graduated in 2009 with a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Accompaniment. She writes that “one area of unexpected development has been the extent of my work with vocalists. I have formed a duo partnership with one particular mezzo-soprano [fellow Dewar Awardee] Jemma Brown, and she has played a very significant part in my development as a vocal accompanist.”  The duo’s recitals are becoming very popular throughout Scotland.  Maryam and Jemma will be performing at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

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I am writing to thank the trustees for my Dewar Arts Award. It will help me tremendously, and I am extremely grateful.

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2008 Awardee: Mhari Baird

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 21
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Hailing from East Ayrshire, flautist Mharhi is studying music at Glasgow’s, RSAMD. Before that she spent two years at Lews Castle College in Benbecula.

Mharhi is a diverse musician and a natural performer. As well as excelling on the flute, she also plays the guitar and banjo and is developing into a wonderful singer in her native Scots. She has a particular interest in the traditional flute and will be spending four months in Limerick on an exchange programme to study the Irish flute.

She performed at the 2008 Celtic Connections Festival to great acclaim and is a name to look out for in the future.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award enables Mharhi to buy a 6-keyed wooden flute.

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2008 Awardee: Morag Keil

I am very grateful for this and the award will be a big help for me whilst studying my MA at Chelsea

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

Biography

Edinburgh-born Morag graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 2006. Since then she has been working as a multi-disciplinary artist in Glasgow where she has become part of the Glasgow art scene and exhibited in both Scotland and abroad. Morag’s art practise encompasses performance, sculpture, painting and video, and she co-organised Flat 01, an exhibition / event / performance venue in a Glasgow flat.

In 2006 Morag was awarded the Skinny Magazine Arts Reviewer of the year. She has been successful in winning a number of grants to support her art development and was selected for both Bloomberg New Contemporaries and BraveArt. Her work has been featured in a number of magazines and her solo exhibitions have been very successful. She is represented by the Neue Alte Brücke gallery in Frankfurt.

Morag has been accepted to study for an MA at the Chelsea College of Art. She is regarded someone with a great career ahead as an internationally-recognised artist.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help Morag in her studies at Chelsea College of Art.

Since the Award

Morag used her year of study to develop a practical application for her theoretical concerns. At her final degree show she exhibited a film entitled ‘Where Are You Going?’  Morag writes, “without the Dewar Award, I would not have had the opportunity to spend this time researching and developing my work. It has benefited my research and working practices greatly..’ Morag successfully completed a Master of Art at Chelsea.

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I am very grateful for this and the award will be a big help for me whilst studying my MA at Chelsea

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2008 Awardee: Niall Macdonald

I’m honoured and delighted. [This award] will enable me to totally dedicate myself to the production of new work …. I look forward to starting the project.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 27
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Niall was born and raised in the remote Outer Hebrides. He now lives in Glasgow and works alongside some of Scotland’s most successful contemporary visual artists at the new Glasgow Sculpture Studios.

His first degree was in Literature and Film studies at Glasgow University. In 2008, Niall graduated from the acclaimed MFA at Glasgow School of Art, where he was awarded the prestigious Leverhulme Scholarship.

Niall’s degree show work was selected to be part of ‘ROAR:’, a high-profile review exhibition of promising young Scottish artists which was held at London’s South Bank Centre. Since graduating, Niall has exhibited work in Manchester, Berlin and again in London. He is considered to be one of the most talented and intellectually able artists working in Scotland today and is seen as an emerging artist with an outstanding career ahead of him.

Niall begins working on an ambitious project to produce a series of new artwork culminating in a significant solo exhibition in late 2009 to be held in Glasgow’s young and increasingly renowned gallery, Washington Garcia.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help buy time and materials to help Niall produce this significant body of new work.

Since the Award

Niall writes that receiving the award enabled him to “open up new ways of working, to explore ideas and over the 10 months of the project gave me an opportunity to push my work forward with confidence and support.” Since the end of his Dewar-funded project, Niall has continued to develop and show his work.

Niall’s work was showcased as part of our 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Roots to Shoots. Find out more here.

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I’m honoured and delighted. [This award] will enable me to totally dedicate myself to the production of new work …. I look forward to starting the project.

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2008 Awardee: Patricia Orr

I am enormously grateful and very proud indeed to have been selected as the recipient of an Award.

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

Biography

Glasgow-born Patricia was educated at Holyrood Secondary School and later at Glasgow University where she studied for a law degree.

She later moved to London to pursue a career in opera. Patricia’s mezzo soprano voice both impressed and excited her tutor for its size and beauty. She is currently on the one-year intensive vocational opera programme at the prestigious National Opera Studio, which is considered to be the main UK launch-pad for great opera careers.

Patricia’s goal is to join one of the major opera companies. Already she has bookings with Scottish Opera, Opera Holland Park and the National Opera Studio Showcase.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award is supporting Patricia at the National Opera Studio.

Since the Award

Patricia writes, “My experience at the Opera Studio was overwhelmingly positive. ..The financial support I received with the Dewar [Arts] Awards allowed me to exploit and enjoy the many opportunities afforded by the training course at the Studio through the year without the pressure of constant financial anxiety.”

Patricia is currently singing Second Lady in Mozart’s Magic Flute for the English Touring Opera, and in 2010 will be singing in a new production of Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream  at Garsington Opera.

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I am enormously grateful and very proud indeed to have been selected as the recipient of an Award.

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2008 Awardee: Rachel Steele

Thank you for your letter informing me of my award … the news was so wonderful. Please inform the committee that I thank them for their offer.

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

Biography

Perth born and bred, Rachel began learning the ‘cello on an instrument which belonged to her grandfather. She was a student on the Junior RSAMD programme, studying both ‘cello and clarinet, where she received a number of scholarships, including the Wolfson and the Musicians’ Benevolent.

Rachel attends Perth Academy and is principal ‘cellist in both the Academy and the Perth Youth Orchestras. She also sings with the Fair City Singers and was their instrumental soloist in their summer tour around Italy. She is also a probationer with the renowned local choir, Chansons.

Rachel’s musicianship has developed in the last few years and her Junior RSAMD tutors consider her to be a young musician of enormous potential. Now that she is about to audition to study at a conservatoire, her family had to make the decision to sell the family ‘cello in order to buy a better standard of instrument for Rachel’s professional career.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help to purchase a new good-quality ‘cello.

Since the Award

Rachel subsequently bought a Chinese-made ‘cello with a beautiful sound and which she is delighted with. She continues to lead the Perth Youth Orchestra, reached the final of the Perth Chamber Music Young Player competition and starts her further studies in music in 2010 at the Birmingham Conservatoire.

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Thank you for your letter informing me of my award … the news was so wonderful. Please inform the committee that I thank them for their offer.

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2008 Awardee: Rachel Watson

I am very grateful to you all for this amazing award and I am really looking forward to performing with my very own tenor saxophone.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 18
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Interested in music from a very young age, Rachel initially wanted to learn the flute. That was until she went to hear Russell Cowieson play in a jazz concert. She fell in love with the saxophone immediately, and went on to have lessons with Cowieson for the following six years.

Hailing from Mid-Calder, Rachel first studied at the RSAMD Junior Academy. She later won a place at the RSAMD to study music, impressing with her natural talent combined with strong work ethic.

Rachel is a talented chamber musician and has set up a saxophone quartet. Her ambition is to be a professional musician, ideally playing her beloved jazz.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award has helped Rachel buy her own tenor saxophone.

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I am very grateful to you all for this amazing award and I am really looking forward to performing with my very own tenor saxophone.

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