As the year draws to a close we’re celebrating the achievements of 2023 Arts Foundation Fellows:
Louise Lenborg Skajem (Bio Design Fellow, 2023) won the Design and Art Direction Pencil Award for Future Impact and an Innovate UK grant. Resting Reef went on display at the 2023 London Design Biennale’s Dubai Pavilion and Dutch Design Week. They were also selected to be part of the Better Futures programme in partnership with The Mayor of London, Imperial College and ICA Hackspace. Read about Resting Reef’s presentation at Dutch Design Week in Dezeen.
Akeim Toussaint Buck (Dance Theatre Fellow, 2023) previewed new works Negus Genesis at Stage at Leeds, and Okan at The Place, London, following a residency at Yorkshire Dance Pictures with support from ACE. He also performed Souls & Cells at The Place with Crystal Zillwood. His acclaimed performance Windows of Displacement was selected for Sharjah Art Biennale, and the BBC featured him on BBC Dance Passion Liverpool. Akeim has toured screenings of his films Displaced (2022) and brand new release Reckoning (2023), both created in collaboration with Ashley Karrell. He was invited to join Rotation Dance Exchange as a judge, and shared his Beatmotion Practice at the Northern School on the MA in Interdisciplinary Practice. Akeim also performed at our Arts Foundation Fundraising Dinner & Auction!
Emily Mulenga (Digital Art Fellow, 2023) exhibited her solo exhibit Fantasy Star Online at Southbank Centre’s billboard space, as well as in group exhibitions Player Piano at The Art Station, Suffolk, NAE Open 2023 at New Art Exchange, Nottingham, Portal Park at MAMA Rotterdam, ACall Arts Festival and and Eyes on the Horizon – Perspectival Shifts at BUoY Arts Center Tokyo.
Iceboy Violet (Electronic Music Fellow, 2023) released their acclaimed album Not a Dream But a Controlled Explosion on Fixed Abode, EP Drown 2 Float, and fundraising compilation From Manchester to Palestine: A Compilation of Music & Poetry. Their tracks Don’t Last Forever (chynna) and Black Gold with Florence Sinclair were featured on Mary Anne Hobbs’ BBC 6Music New Music Fix list. Violet was commissioned by Mark Leckey to create new work for In The Offing at Turner Contemporary, and went on tour to Estonia, France, Austria, Portugal, Germany, Finland, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, China and the UK. Reviews of their work have appeared in The Quietus, Pitchfork, Dazed, Resident Advisor, Clash, Loud and Quiet, DJ Magazine and The Fader. Listen to their work on Bandcamp.
Gaia Holmes (Place Writing Fellow, 2023) has been working on her new book, He Used to Do Dangerous Things, which will be published by Comma Press in April 2024. Alongside this, she has spoken at libraries nationwide, and published short story Unloved Flowers, in The Cuckoo Cage- New Origin Stories, an anthology published by Comma Press. Unloved Flowers is a story about resilience, bats, homelessness, justice and beautiful weeds. Listen to a recording on Gaia’s Soundcloud, as well as short story Below The Thunders Of The Upper Deep.