2009 Awardee: Fiona Mackay

Receiving this award allows me to participate in the Wiels Residency Program in Brussels, an opportunity that I would be unable to realise without the substantial financial support of the Dewar Arts Awards.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2009
AGE AT AWARD: 24
ARTFORMS:
 
 
 

Biography

Aberdeen-born Fiona studied initially at the Glasgow School Art, from which she graduated with a degree in fine art painting. Since then, Fiona has worked as an artist, exhibiting in Scotland, England, Germany and Belgium.
Since graduating, Fiona was included in the well-regarded national competition, New Contemporaries, and has exhibited in the prestigious Timothy Taylor Gallery in London, both of which are testaments to the considerable promise her future work holds.

Fiona has played an integral part in the Glasgow art scene, both in contributing to exhibitions and in the establishment and programming of the gallery space Flat 0/1. Flat 0/1 provided a much-needed opportunity for a younger generation of Scottish artists to exhibit their work in a supportive, discursive atmosphere.

Fiona has been accepted onto the six-month Wiels Residency Program at the new contemporary arts centre in Brussels, which receives six young artists from throughout Europe for a programme of professional development and artistic dialogue. This residency will be of significant benefit to both Fiona’s standing internationally and as an emerging artist in Scotland.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help Fiona take up this exciting opportunity.

Since the Award

Fiona writes that “while at Wiels, with the ability to gain a distance to my studio practice in Glasgow combined with a broad range of different influences and experiences from my peers, I found the ability to focus on elements of my work with a new sense of clarity and confidence.” Following the residency at Wiels, Fiona was invited to work as an artist in the studios of Komplot in Brussels and following on from that to participate in a month’s residency with Lokaal01 in Antwerp.

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Receiving this award allows me to participate in the Wiels Residency Program in Brussels, an opportunity that I would be unable to realise without the substantial financial support of the Dewar Arts Awards.

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2008 Awardee: Elaine Woo MacGregor

The award gives me an exciting opportunity to work in a creative environment within the unique New England setting.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 25
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Edinburgh-born Elaine was brought up by her traditional Chinese parents and is equally comfortable in both Chinese and Western cultures. From a young age she went to the Chinese school learning how to read and write Chinese. During that time, she was taught Chinese poetry and calligraphy. She has visited China several times to visit relatives.

In the family home, the fusion of the two cultures was reflected in the prints, textiles and furnishings. However, Scotland has always felt like home to Elaine.

Elaine moved to Glasgow at the age of 18 to study Fine Art at the Glasgow School of Art. She graduated with a good degree, acquired a studio and began working as a full-time artist, exhibiting throughout the UK. She began to be noticed as a serious and thoughtful painter and her first solo exhibition was ‘Portraits’ in Glasgow.

Elaine has received recognition for her work in the form of the James Torrance Memorial Award, the Hope Scott Trust Award and the Cross Trust Fund.

Elaine was offered a post as Artist in Residence for one month at the University of Guizhou, based at the Art Academy of Guiyang. Elaine says of the experience that, “it helped to bring back some strong connections to my Chinese roots; providing me with a better understanding of the Chinese way of life and its ancient philosophy.” An exhibition of new work inspired by this visit can be seen in the Harbour Art Centre in Irvine in 2009.

How the Award Helped

Elaine has been offered the Partial Fellowship Artist Residency in the Vermont Studio Center, Johnson in Vermont. The Dewar Arts Award will help towards the funding of her stay there.

Since the Award

Elaine writes that after her one-month residency in the Vermont Studio Center “there have been unexpected new directions and opportunities..”  One is an exhibition in late 2010 in London with a group of artists on the residency, the other is her increasing interest in imagery related to mythology and human history. She plans to visit ancient Scottish settlements to develop this interest.

Elaine took part in our 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Roots to Shoots. Find out more here.

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The award gives me an exciting opportunity to work in a creative environment within the unique New England setting.

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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: Linsay Croall

I was delighted to receive ... your support. The award will allow me to take full advantage of the opportunities that studying at the Tamarind Institute provides.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2008
AGE AT AWARD: 25
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Born and raised in Edinburgh’s Leith area, Linsay moved to Aberdeen when she entered Gray’s School of Art in 2000. In 2004 she was awarded the John Kinross scholarship from the RSA and received the David Gordon Memorial.

After graduation, Linsay worked as a print-maker for the Edinburgh Printmakers and, currently, she works part-time for Peacock Visual Arts. She is also developing her own art practice. Linsay has a developing interest in lithography, which is a dwindling artform in Scotland.

After a brief summer workshop at the Tamarind Institute in New Mexico, she applied for and was accepted onto their nine-month, intensive Professional Printer Training Programme. Linsay will be the first Scottish print-maker for over twenty years to study at this internationally renowned centre of excellence. During the course she will strengthen and refine her technical skills in both stone and plate lithography.

When she returns to Scotland, Linsay hopes to pass on her skills to others, as well as develop her own art practice and collaborate with other visual artists.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will enable Linsay to take up this unique opportunity to study at the Tamarind Institute.

Since the Award

Studying lithography in the dry heat of New Mexico offers unique challenges. Linsay was told that “if you can print a stone in the desert, you can print a stone anywhere.” The intensive course comprised learning the techniques of stone lithography and then collaborating with artists to produce and edition their work.

Linsay writes that, “In the few months since [I returned to the Peacock Gallery] I’ve already editioned six stones with invited artists, have an ambitious one drawn up and ready to etch and various tests ongoing. All the artists have been delighted with the results so far …” The Education Director of the Tamarind Institute commented that the graduate art students at the Institute wanted to work with Linsay because of the special attention she gave to their collaborations.

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I was delighted to receive ... your support. The award will allow me to take full advantage of the opportunities that studying at the Tamarind Institute provides.

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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: 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: Sara Barker

I am excited about the work I will be able to produce towards my exhibition.

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

Biography

Moving from the Isle of Man to Glasgow to study at the Glasgow School of Art, Sara Barker has lived in Scotland for over 10 years. At art school, Sara won the Emy Sachs Award for Female Artists. Since graduating, Sara has been practising as a visual artist, predominantly as a sculptor, and contributing to the Scottish art scene.

In 2004 Sara founded, and is represented by, the Mary Mary Gallery. In 2006, she was selected by the Collective Gallery in Edinburgh for the New Works Scotland programme. In 2008 she was offered her first solo international exhibition at a major gallery in Bologne.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award helped Sara to develop work for this major exhibition.

Since the Award

Sara writes that the award enabled her to “make the body of work that I had hoped, experimenting with new materials and working in a less pressured way.” Following the highly productive period that the award allowed Sarah, she has since been offered more exhibitions and won the British School at Rome Residency in 2009. This led to more exhibitions with established artists. As a result, Sara has established a steady studio practice based at the Glasgow Sculpture Studios, which, she says, would not have been possible without the award.

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I am excited about the work I will be able to produce towards my exhibition.

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2007 Awardee: Katri Walker

I am absolutely delighted with the trustees' decision, not to mention deeply grateful... I am very excited about making the film and about GI, I know it will be a very challenging and important time for me.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2007
AGE AT AWARD: 29
ARTFORMS: ,
WEBSITE:https://www.katriwalker.com
 
 

Biography

Born and brought up in Edinburgh, Katri Walker moved to Glasgow to study for her degree in Fine Art/Sculpture at the Glasgow School of Art. She graduated in 2002 with a first-class honours degree.

Since graduation, Katri has lived and exhibited in Mexico, Finland and Australia. In 2006 she was invited to take part in the Next Wave Festival, with 5 other Scottish artists, as part of the Youth Cultural programme in Melbourne, held at the same time as the Commonwealth Games. In 2005 she returned to Glasgow to pursue a prestigious Master of Fine Art at the GSA

Katri works in a variety of media, including photography, drawing and film and video. Her films are short, direct and, employing tragi-comedy as a tool, she frequently deals with aspects of interpersonal relationships.

Katri has been invited to exhibit in the third Glasgow International 2008 in a joint show with the internationally recognised Spanish artist, Dani Marti. Katri is considered to be one of the best young artists working in Scotland today and expected to become one of the most outstanding artists of her generation.

Her planned exhibit, to create a short film on one of the ancient cultural traditions found in Mexico, won universal support of the trustees.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will go towards the expenses to creating Katri’s exhibit for the Glasgow International 2008.

Since the Award

Katri writes after her duo-exhibition at the 2008 Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art, “The public outcome of my project .. has been a really important step in my career. The response [to the duo-exhibition] was overwhelmingly positive, not only from the public but the media also.”

Katri subsequently undertook a 3-month residency in Perth, Australia and exhibited there in early 2009.

Katri features in our 10th Anniversary Exhibition at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.

Rapture [extract] from Katri Walker on Vimeo.

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I am absolutely delighted with the trustees' decision, not to mention deeply grateful... I am very excited about making the film and about GI, I know it will be a very challenging and important time for me.

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2007 Awardee: Caroline Walker

I am looking forward to starting my MA course .. and I am sure it will help me develop my work and open up opportunities for my future career.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2007
AGE AT AWARD: 24
ARTFORMS:
 
 
 

Biography

It has been a long-held ambition of Glasgow School of Art graduate, Caroline Walker, to study painting in London. Brought up in Dunfermline, Caroline completed her first degree in 2004 and went on to work as a gallery assistant to support her painting practice. In 2007 she applied for, and won on her first application, a place on the highly-competitive MA Painting course at the Royal College of Art.

Since graduating from GSA, Caroline has exhibited widely across Scotland, the UK and abroad. In 2006 her work was selected for the highly prestigious John Moore 24 exhibition of painting at the Walker Gallery in Liverpool. She is remembered by her tutors as one of the best students to have come through the GSA in the last 10 years and was one of the most naturally talented painters in her year.

Whilst many students do well at art school and produce works of high quality, only few of them have that extra something which turns them into artists. Caroline is considered to possess those qualities of drive, determination and intelligence to enable her to become a Scottish painter of rare quality.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help towards the considerable expenses to pursue a 2-year Masters in Painting at the RCA.

Since the Award

At the end of her two years’ postgraduate study at RCA, Caroline received 3 awards: The Tom Bendhem Drawing Prize, The Neville Burston Award for a painting student and The Valerie Beston Young Artist Award which provides her with free studio space for a year.  All her paintings in the final show were purchased. Caroline writes, “I genuinely feel that my success at the degree show and the recognition my work has received is the result of having been able to fully commit to the course, which was enabled by the funding from the Dewar Arts Award.”

Caroline’s work was showcased as part of our Tenth Anniversary Celebrations. Find out more here.

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I am looking forward to starting my MA course .. and I am sure it will help me develop my work and open up opportunities for my future career.

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