Testimonials

With the Arts Foundation support, I have managed to successfully pursue the vision of being able to further evolve the development and the implementation of novel living biomaterials for applications in our cities. Projects such as Indus, if successful will spearhead an era where we 'design for behavior change'.

Across the past ten months, the £10,000 Arts Foundation Futures award Fellowship has transformed my career as a visual artist in myriad ways. From the effect that such a substantial and sudden injection of capital has had on my mental wellbeing, providing me for the first time since leaving home with a solid, financial safety net, to the sense of validation and boost in confidence that the accolade of becoming a fellow has afforded me.

Receiving the nomination for the first Theatre-Maker award was a blessing alone. I was genuinely stoked to be shortlisted amongst such brilliant artists. When I received the news that I was the recipient of the full award I was blown away. I could not have asked for a better start to my year. 

I am currently writing this letter from Hawthornden Castle in Scotland, where I am in residence as a writing fellow until early October. I was able to take this month-long residency because I was in a position to turn down paid work. This has allowed me to get a first draft – 46,000 words – of Greyhound down on paper.

Having this money I have felt an enormous privilege, I knew I wouldn’t have to panic about my rent, I was able cover the cost of London studio rent even though my collaborator with whom I previously shared this with was injured and unable to use the space, it’s helped me to cover the costs of two storage units where I keep sculptures for performances.

Being nominated in the ‘Comics’ category - by peers - was a huge boost to my confidence. This year, for the first time, I began to set myself maximum limits on the amount of teaching I took on, to retain time for drawing and research - something I am keen to keep up, and find ways to make sustainable in the long-term.

This past twelve months of my Arts Foundation Fellowship year has been an extraordinary one - between expanding my brand, building on my portfolio and responding to the current crisis, I have been extremely busy!

I was keen to develop my material research around the re-use and re-cycling of materials, therefore I used the fellowship funding to travel up North to meet with Professor Parik at the University of Huddersfield who I was put in contact with through YSP. His research in bioplastics and technical textiles was fascinating and we had important and inspiring conversations around touch, sustainability and material manipulation amongst other things.

For some time, I have felt an urge to experience ritualistic performance. My intuition was that this kind of performance would deepen my sense of the origins of theatre and of our need to create visible forms through the body, set elements, costumes or whatever the devices may be, to describe the world within us.

Seeing my work recognized in this way amongst a selection of peers was powerful and restorative. Before seeing it I’d been seriously contemplating my ability to return to my arts practice, yet the nomination gave me hope to persevere through what was personally a very difficult time.

My time was spent exploring how advances in biotechnology and engineering can be applied to everyday objects and architecture to increase the quality of our lives.

For me, the award was not simply a financial support, but supportive in the sense that it acknowledged my work and efforts which sometimes are so unbelievably alienating in the process of producing.

With the prize money I was able to buy a bigger kiln, new burner and a new, better extraction hood. The kiln allowed me to make bigger work and I used it for a number of these new neon pieces. The more powerful extraction system enabled me to do further experiments with applied lustre and work in a more healthy studio environment.

With the Arts Foundation Award behind me I made the step I otherwise would not have been able to do and entered entirely into independent working.

Thanks to this fellowship I could dedicate half of my weekly time to the development of the first “living and breathing chandelier” using the new BioSolar Leaf as light diffusers.

For me, along with the crucial financial wage the fellowship afforded me, was the time it gave me to really sit and think about a new piece of music, its performance and really what I wanted to say in terms of content, subject matter, context and narrative.

As part of the application I made clear that if I won the Award I would have the opportunity to commit to my first ever solo exhibition at the renowned ARAM Gallery in London. I had never been in such a financial position to commit to such an opportunity before.

As a result of my Arts Foundation fellowship in Live Art, awarded in 2017 I have been able to expand the limits of my practice beyond what I thought possible.

One of the areas of Choral Conducting that I wanted to focus on improving my conducting technique. Having this space and dedicated time for lessons has greatly benefited me and the choirs I work with and has enabled me to express myself as a conductor to a much greater extent. 

I’m delighted to say that the Arts Foundation Fellowship has had a significant effect on my personal practice and working life as well, I believe, as on the reception of creative non-fiction as an increasingly popular and respected genre in the UK.

In many ways the Award has allowed me to gestate for the year and develop as an artist in ways I wouldn't have had the creative space for had the finances not been available.