2012 Awardee: Chris Dyson

I cannot begin to imagine the impact this opportunity will have on my practice and the formation of my research

Biography

Originally from Pudsey in West Yorkshire, Chris moved to Scotland in 2001. He studied at The Glasgow School of Art where he explored his passion for sculpture and film. He has been described as a skilled maker with a uniquely creative eye.

Since graduating from GSA in 2005, Chris has been actively involved in many artist-run spaces and research groups in the city. He has also contributed to numerous exhibitions at home and abroad, including shows at the DCA and CCA. He has made a strong contribution to the dialogue surrounding contemporary Scottish art.

In 2010, Chris was awarded a Professional Development Grant from Creative Scotland. In 2011, he was selected for the Scottish Screen Archive.

How the Award Helped

Chris has been granted a prized scholarship to study an MFA at CalArts, California. His Dewar Award will provide financial support to enable him to benefit from this fantastic opportunity.

I cannot begin to imagine the impact this opportunity will have on my practice and the formation of my research

2010 Awardee: Alex Boyd

I appreciate the opportunity that I have been given to complete my project ‘Sonnets from Scotland’, and I look forward to sharing my progress with…the trustees in the coming months.

Biography

Born in Germany and now resident in Ayrshire, Alex began his ‘Sonnets of Scotland’ project in 2007. A History of Art graduate from the University of Glasgow, Alex describes his project as a “photographic journey around the coasts and countryside of Scotland” to document the historically significant open spaces and question traditional assumptions and romantic depictions of the landscape. A lone figure appears in each photograph, referencing romantic artists such as Caspar David Friedrich, John Knox and the early work of Hamish Macmillan.

Alex has already exhibited his work in the US, across Scotland, in London and on mainland Europe in over 20 solo and group shows. He was short-listed for a BBC photography award in 2005 and was a finalist in the EU ‘Imagine’ Photographer of the Year Award in 2009.

He took part in Anthony Gormley’s Fourth Plinth project, collaborating with Scottish poet, Edwin Morgan. They presented a unique combination of photography by Boyd and poetry reading by Morgan.

In 2008, Alex exhibited images from the ‘Sonnets from Scotland’ series projected onto Europe’s largest building, the Palace of the Parliament in Romania. He is currently creating new work to be exhibited as large projections in Battersea Power Station in the summer of 2010. For more information about Alex’s work, see www.alexboyd.co.uk

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will enable Alex to finish his ‘Sonnets of Scotland’ project.

Since the Award

Alex has shown some of his ‘Sonnets’ at arts festivals across Europe and was also  finalist in the prestigious Photographic Award Genius Loci, Spirit of Place and Cultural Diversity. He has been offered residencies in Tuscany and Ireland, a PhD place at a top Scottish University and has been teaching at GSA. Alex writes, “my journey in photography has been greatly enhanced through the help of the Dewar Award and [I have been given] opportunities that would not have been possible without [this] help and kind support….for that I am very grateful indeed.”

The Sonnets from Scotland – a short film shot on location in Skye, Glencoe and the Scottish Highlands.

I appreciate the opportunity that I have been given to complete my project ‘Sonnets from Scotland’, and I look forward to sharing my progress with…the trustees in the coming months.

2006 Awardee: Claire Wheeldon

I am ecstatic, and cannot thank the trustees enough! It will make an incredible difference to the year ahead

Biography

Claire graduated from Edinburgh College of Art with a first-class degree. While at art college she won two achievement prizes and was the first student winner of the prestigious Schweppes Award (formerly: John Kobal Portrait Award).

In 2002 she was the youngest artist commissioned to create artwork for the Scottish Parliament, producing a stunning series of photographs entitled Inclusion.

After working as a freelance photographer – one of her commissions was to photograph the former director of the National Portrait Gallery, Charles Saumerez Smith, and the staff of the gallery – she won a place on the Masters course in Fine Art Photography at the Royal College of Art, London.

Claire, who was brought up in Broomhill in Glasgow, is an extremely talented photographer who has already won admiration and notice for her work.

She has recently been commissioned by the charity Make Poverty History to travel overseas to produce work for their Poverty Ticker Screensaver project.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will go towards Claire’s tuition fees and photographic expenses.

Since the Award

Claire successfully gained an MA in Photography.

She writes that “in the desire to break from my previous working practice and find new ways of working, I branched into video as a way of exploring my ideas and concerns. I found this very challenging, as it was a break in the control and direction I had previously employed in my work.”

One of Claire’s videos, ‘Samantha Singing’ was shown in the monumental 150th anniversary of all the South Kensington cultural and education institutions, from the V&A Museum to the RCA. The two-week exhibition had over 10,000 visitors. Subsequently, Claire was invited to show her video at the ‘Late at Tate’ event at Tate Britain, alongside artist Bruce McLean and human rights activist, Peter Tatchell. Claire’s video of ‘Samantha Singing’ was also shown at the Dewar Arts Award 10th anniversary Showcase, much to everyone’s evident enjoyment.

I am ecstatic, and cannot thank the trustees enough! It will make an incredible difference to the year ahead