Older Artist Bursaries 2019

In 2019 Luminate offered a bursary programme for older emerging artists.  Small bursaries were offered to several artists to support their professional development, and one larger bursary – in partnership with the Saltire Society – was offered to support the early development of a new creative idea.

Professional development

A series of bursaries of between £500 and £1,000 were offered to help older emerging artists learn new skills, undertake mentoring, coaching or professional training, or travel to build networks or attend conferences.

It was an opportunity for older artists to define their own development needs, and be supported to meet them.

New ideas

In partnership with the Saltire Society, a bursary of £2,000 supported one older artist in the early development of a new creative idea.

The New Ideas Bursary was awarded to:

Barbara Gardner-Rowell 

Barbara (59) invited a small group of artists from different disciplines to collaborate with her to flesh out  ideas for a piece of work where visual art, spoken word, sound and movement are integrated to explore the concept of Shame, at both a personal and collective level. 

Professional development bursaries were awarded to:

Berenice Carrington

Berenice (56) was mentored by Parker Harris Contemporary Visual Art Consultants to develop a plan promoting her approach to ethnographic drawing in a curatorial context, and establishing a peer support network. 

Carol Beckwith

The bursary enabled Carol (55) to undertake an intensive, week-long course of Estill vocal tuition, based on the principles of promoting body awareness and mindfulness.  The course focused on maximising vocal strengths, reducing performance anxiety and maintaining vocal health. 

Carolyn Yates

Carolyn (63) attended Voice Studio International’s five-day voice workshop in Glasgow led by Susan Worsfold. The way a playwright puts words on paper (their “voice”) is a critical part of theatre-making, regardless of the stories being told. Voice Studio International explored the complex and physically challenging way we literally use our voice. As a new playwright, Carolyn used the opportunity to develop her voice further, to give a deeper physicality and a visceral quality and increase the performativity aspects of her writing.  

Fiona Harrison

Fiona (61) participated in a short course in video projection mapping at the Guildhalll School of Music and Drama in London. This provided the opportunity for interesting mixed media projects and audience development in the future. 

Fiona Montgomery

The bursary provided key mentoring and advice on Fiona’s (56) memoir-in-progress at a crucial time, helping to build on her 2018 writing success.  The memoir combined a strong personal narrative with a feminist spotlight on trauma and memory – and the ways in which society, the media, individuals and families respond. 

Heather Wilson

During the bursary, Heather (56) worked on developing ideas, experimenting with technique, and embarking on creating some new prints. She is was keeping an open mind about how the work would emerge, while focusing on her ever widening interest in land use, on a local and a global scale.  

Jane Archer

Jane’s (55) novel-in-progress Cutting the Roses reimagines the lives of Rose Williams (sister of Tennessee) and Rosemary Kennedy who were amongst the first women to be lobotomised in 1940s America. She undertook a residency and one-to-one mentoring and editing support to further her progress on this novel. 

Keiko Mukaide

Having previously focused on glass objects and installations, Keiko (64) used the bursary to expand her practice by learning mosaic technique at a Ceramic mosaic studio in Hungary, finding a way of adding value to old and recycled ceramics and glassware. 

Mary Walters

Mary (72) travelled to Svalbard for 10 days to research the qualities of ICE as a material through photography, drawings and sound recordings. She placed these in the context of a permanent living landscape, which is undergoing large-scale change during our contemporary times. 

Pauline Walmsley

Pauline (62) participated in a Level 1 and Level 2 Estill voice training course. This course allowed her to develop and improve her singing voice by giving her skills to add clarity, strength and stamina. 

Phyllis McGowan

Phyllis (57) sought technical support at the Sculpture Studios in Glasgow to develop new work devised from research during a December residency with WASPS at the Admirals House in Skye.  

Robert Richards

Robert (53) attended the World VR Forum annual conference in Switzerland in June 2019. The summit acts as a marketplace for VR films as well as a competitive VR film festival and importantly a community meeting place for VR practitioners throughout the world. 

Robin Lloyd Jones

Robin (84) wanted to increase his use of photography and visual images alongside his literary work. He participated in several short photography courses to improve his photographic skills and combine his writing with visual images.