Aberdeen Arts Centre is delighted to announce the three recipients of their Artist Development Bursaries 2024.
After receiving 18 expressions of interest, and meeting with nine creatives to discuss their projects, 3 recipients were chosen from a very strong and creative pool of applications.
Amy Liptrott, director of Aberdeen Arts Centre said: “I was so pleased to see the number and quality of applications for our 2024 bursaries. Professional creatives across visual arts, music, theatre, literature and spoken word put forward what the bursary would enable them to do. The focus for this year is to support the development of personal practice.
"Professional creatives, by necessity, often have portfolio careers, working across different organisations as well as having a professional performing or exhibiting career. Focused time to dedicate to new work, reflecting on feedback and developing as a creative is difficult to prioritse. Our bursaries are small but mighty and meaningful support to the professional talent in Aberdeen and the North-east.”
Nurturing the talent in Aberdeen and the North-east is a crucial part of a thriving creative infrastructure. Aberdeen Arts Centre has been part of the journey of groundbreaking work during its history.
In 1973, the celebrated play The Cheviot, The Stag and the Black, Black Oil, had its premiere performance on stage at Aberdeen Arts Centre. Receiving critical acclaim, it went on to tour The UK and Internationally for many years, receiving a CATS award in 2023 for outstanding contribution to Scottish theatre, 50 years after it was first performed. Artist Development at Aberdeen Arts Centre encourages and supports outstanding professional talent in Aberdeen. The seeds of ideas sown with an Artist Development Bursary could go on to have a national and international life, all because of initial support.
David Banks, Mae Diansangu and Hannah Ekekwe
Bursary recipients for 2024 are:
Hannah Ekekwe: Hannah is an award-winning writer of children's and young adult fiction from Aberdeen. Dubbed ‘a name to watch out for’ by Faber, Hannah writes stories about black girls finding themselves, finding love, and sometimes saving the world. Hannah will be using the bursary award to focus on the first draft of the first in a series of new middle-grade novels, aiming to submit to publishers by the end of the year.
Mae Diansangu: Mae Diansangu is a queer poet and from Aberdeen. She has performed at literary festivals across Scotland and appeared on BBC Scotland's Big Scottish Book Club and BBC Radio 4's Tongue and Talk. Mae writes in both English and Doric, her debut collection BLOODSONGS (Tapsalteerie) will be published in September 2024. Mae will be using the bursary award to explore a Drag King performance character, Uncle Tony.
David Banks: David is an Aberdonian artist and movement specialist who aspires to reclaim cities and reduce inequality through community arts and performance. A graduate with BA (Hons) from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, David makes devised and collaborative work using his core skill set as a performance maker, mover and designer to create unique spectacles and projects from concept to creation. David will be using the bursary award to develop a new work, The Angry Unicorn, into an illustrated book as diversification of his practice. A unicorn and a tree sit in a bubble waiting for the end of time. When joy breaks their bubble they have to survive being seen.
For anyone who would like to support and sponsor the development of creative talent in Aberdeen, please get in touch. More information about the Artist Development Programme at Aberdeen Arts Centre can be found here: https://www.aberdeenartscentre.com/artist-development
For budding professional creatives ages 0-17 yrs, Aberdeen Arts Centre has a weekly and seasonal Creative Learning Programme: https://www.aberdeenartscentre.com/creative-learning/summer-sessions-2024