Richard Demarco Travel Bursaries

Five young artists have each been awarded £2,000 travel bursaries to pursue projects in the name, and in honour of, Richard Demarco to mark his contribution to the arts in Scotland.

The bursaries are provided by the Arts Trust of Scotland, an independent charitable trust which is administered by the Scottish Arts Council. The scheme was open to talented young artists across disciplines who were nominated by the arts school or academy in which they currently work. The bursaries are designed to allow the artist to travel and undertake an ambitious project to help develop and shape his or her future career.

Although there were few directives regarding the artists work, all nominees were required to recognise and be sympathetic to the internationalism of Mr Demarco’s approach to life, work and art and Mr Demarco has offered assistance, guidance and mentoring as part of the bursary.

The five successful applicants are pursuing a diverse range of projects which range from mime art to temporary sculptures created from the contents of skips and cover diverse themes such as post colonialism, whaling and Scotland’s historical links with Panama.

All the Scottish schools of art and RSAMD were invited to nominate students to provide an application in December 2007.  The five successful students and the Chair of the Trustees, Andrew Kerr, visited Skateraw, current home of the Demarco archive on 5 May to meet Richard Demarco and discuss their work with him.

The five award winners are:

Emmett Walsh  Glasgow School of Art

Emmett is researching postcolonial identity and globalisation and in particular has been primarily interested in St Helena and its current position within the commonwealth and the nation’s sense of identity in the wake of colonial rule.  He hopes to spend time on the island and produce a short film work, sound recordings and a collection of written research probing the implications of the island’s future.

Salomeh Grace Glasgow School of Art

Salomeh’s work and research considers mime and mimesis within a social and cultural spectrum. She plans to Paris to study Maceeau and Decroux techniques and also to the Mime Festival in Perigueux.  Thereafter she will travel to Warsaw to experience the acclaimed Theatre Na Woli and attend Poland’s international mime festival.

Kevin Harman -  Edinburgh College of Art

Kevin uses the contents of skips to create a global gallery of temporary sculptures.  He plans to travel around the globe and continue his work in many cities to communicate to thousands of people and help develop his understanding of different cultures and their reaction to his work.

Steven Reynolds - Edinburgh College of Art

Steven is a photographer and his bursary will allow him to undertake a photographic project in the Darien region of Panama, the location of a failed expedition from Scotland in 1698 – the key event preceding the Union with England in 1701.  His research to date has revealed that Scotland had some impact on the area and a visit to Darien will provide Steven with the opportunity to produce a visual/artistic document of the multi layered issues it raises. 

Bridget Steed - Edinburgh College of Art

Bridget’s bursary will develop the work she has been undertaking in printmaking during her final years at Edinburgh College of Art – a detailed recording of 37 Inverleith Place, once the home of Theodore Salvesen.  Bridget intends to expand her future practice into examining the Salvesen whaling firm and she intends to visit Leith harbour, South Georgia in Antarctica, the main whaling port in the southern hemisphere set up by the Salvesen whaling firm.

The Scottish Arts Council is the administrator for the Arts Trust of Scotland.  Please note that this trust fund is completely separate from our funding initiatives. For more information on the Arts Trust for Scotland contact helpdesk