Testimonials

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. I can’t thank The Arts Foundation enough for the honour and opportunities your fellowship has given me, which have been truly life changing and extending into all areas of my professional and personal life. Thank you.

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! One of my most satisfying projects this year has been working with the Emergency Designer Network. Working collectively as 150 makers, so far EDN have made nearly 10,000 sets of scrubs and distributed them to 42 individual hospitals, surgeries and care facilities whilst also supplying individuals who have approached us directly including midwives, ICU workers and Doctors, enabling them to have a personal supply of scrubs outside of the NHS chain.

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.