With the generous financial support of the Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) Members, Maitland City Council is pleased to announce the recipients of the MRAG Artist Bursary.
With the generous financial support of the Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) Members, Maitland City Council is pleased to announce the recipients of the MRAG Artist Bursary.
After receiving over 60 applications, the MRAG Members Committee assessed the applications and announced Clare Weeks and Fiona Lee as the beneficiaries of the $5,000 bursary. The Artisan Gallery Creative Collection in East Maitland was also announced as the recipient of the $3,000 studio bursary which will go towards a program of inclusive workshops.
The panel, which included Members Committee representatives Sui-Linn White, Elizabeth O'Brien, James Marshall and Director of 'The Lock Up' Courtney Novak, also decided to fund $1,000 to Jakeob Watson to support his production of a mural in Maitland.
MRAG Members Committee Chair Sui-Linn White says, 'We had a fantastic response to this initiative which gave the Gallery an insight into the depth and energetic practice of artists in our community. We congratulate the successful artists and look forward to seeing their work develop as a result of this fund.'
The Bursary is an initiative entirely funded by the MRAG Members Committee to recognise the important role artists play for the Gallery and Maitland. It was developed in response to the challenges brought about and experienced by artists in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
About the Artists:
Fiona Lee
Fiona Lee is an artist that works across sculpture, installation, video and photography. In November 2019, Fiona lost her home and her studio near Taree to the devastating bushfires. For twelve months, she worked as an artist in residence at the Creator Incubator in Newcastle, where she continues to create today. The Bursary will be used to purchase audio visual equipment to expand the artist's work into immersive installations.
Clare Weeks
Clare Weeks is a Photomedia artist working in digital and performance video art. She has taught at the University of Newcastle and Newcastle Art School. In 2011, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and since this time has documented her experience living with the disease through visual, text and oral means. Using her own body as the site of transgression, she aims to make the unseen experience of living with chronic illness more visual.
Jakeob Watson
Jakeob Watson is a Gomerai artist living on Wonnarua country. He works across design, visual art and public art with teh concepts of community and family central to his art practice. The Bursary will assist with purchasing materials for the production of a mural in Maitland, with collaboration from local Indigenous young people.
Artisan Gallery and Creative Collective
Located in East Maitland, the Artisan Gallery is lead by Jennifer Nicholls who uses the space as an inclusive community site for creativity. The Bursary will help in delivering inclusive art workshops run by the Gallery's collective artists.
