Receiving the Fellowship was wonderful – it was a very exciting evening at the awards ceremony and lovely to be able to connect with the other nominated creatives, some of whom I’m still in touch with. It’s been great to receive recognition of my career in art so far, and for the body of work I’ve created to be celebrated. There have been a few shaky moments over time where I thought about giving up on art and doing something else entirely, but milestones like this remind me to press on with doing what I love and that my work is not going unnoticed.
The Fellowship was a punctuation mark after 10 years of being a professional artist, and I feel buoyed to take the next steps in my practice. I’ve been able to work on what I wanted to in the past year and not worry about taking on unwanted commissions. I’ve also been able to take stock of my work and think about where I want to take it next.
Meanwhile, I’ve continued to take part in group exhibitions internationally, and in 2023 showed in London, Nottingham, Sussex, Tokyo and Rotterdam. It has been great to be able to continue with my practice knowing that I have funds ready for when I need them.
I am also considering a change in the direction of the visual aspect of my work in terms of medium and content, and I anticipate using the money to help with related costs, including materials. I attended the 2024 Arts Foundation Futures Awards as a guest and it was a lovely atmosphere once again. I have felt supported by The Arts Foundation and I’m happy that they will continue to champion my work in the future.