Perpetual today announced that it is distributing a record $460,000 in philanthropic funds to 23 young Australian artists who have received the 2015 Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships.
Each of this year’s winning artists, across the four categories of acting, painting, sculpture and singing, will receive a scholarship worth $20,000 to develop and enrich their careers through travel.
Perpetual received the highest ever number of applications for the scholarships this year, almost double the number of applications compared to the last round for these categories.
“With prudent investment management Perpetual has been able to award a record number of Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships in 2015,” said Andrew Thomas, General Manager of Philanthropy at Perpetual.
First awarded in 1975, the Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship program was established as a charitable trust by performing artist and author John Chisholm Marten to provide financial assistance to young artists.
“As well as being a musician, performer, dancer and accomplished writer, John Marten was at heart, a philanthropist,” Mr Thomas said.
“Some of our most celebrated figures within the arts community, including author Tim Winton and painter Wendy Sharpe, have benefitted from these scholarships.”
“As a trustee we know how much of an impact philanthropy can have on communities and we are delighted that more than 30 years after these scholarships were first announced, they are still having a positive impact on the lives of talented young artists today.”
The 2015 Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships winners include:
Acting
Winners: Josh Price, Ildiko Susany, Duncan Ragg, Nicole Shostak, Eryn Jean Norvill, Nikki Shiels
Mr Price is planning to travel to the UK to undertake improvisation and movement skills workshops, while Ms Susany will seek an internship with a theatre company in New York. Mr Ragg and Ms Shostak share an interest in clowning and will travel to Chicago and Europe to study comedy. Ms Norvill will concentrate her energies in the US, studying long-form improvisation, while Ms Shiels has chosen to specialise in Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Painting
Winners: Sean Crossley, Marc Freeman, Emily Hunt, Samuel Quinteros, Hayley Megan French, Tara Marynowsky
Mr Crossley will complete residencies in Europe and America, enhancing his skills in framing and mounting techniques and screen printing. Mr Freeman will carry out a residency in Beijing and pursue abstract style while integrating Asia-Pacific influences. Ms Hunt will pursue her interests in decorative painting on ceramics in Belgium and Berlin. Mr Quinteros will also travel to Belgium to study the canon of Western art followed by a residency in Tokyo. Ms French will embark upon a research trip to the East Kimberley, where she will study the painting practices of senior Gija artists. Ms Marynowsky will further her engagement with African American art and French symbolism by spending time with artists in Harlem, New York and Paris.
Sculpting
Winners: Paul Yore, Marley Dawson, Adelle Mills, Alice Couttoupes, Tully Arnot, Damien Butler
Mr Yore will travel across the USA for six months, undertaking research into American folk art and textiles. Mr Dawson will also spend an extensive period in America, including time in the studio with metal workers and carpenters, as will Ms Mills who will focus on the legacy of conceptualism. Ms Couttoupes will undertake a series of residencies and research trips to enhance her skills in sculptural ceramics. Mr Arnot will establish a studio with assistants in China and work in New Zealand for the first time. Mr Butler has accepted two residencies at the contemporary fine arts academy in Frankfurt, Germany.
Singing
Winners: Maximilian Riebl, Alexandra Flood, Elly Hoyt, Corinne Cowling, Hannah Dahlenburg
Mr Riebl will establish himself in Vienna to undertake intensive counter-tenor vocal study. Ms Flood will commence a Masters of Opera in Munich to enhance her vocal and acting technique. Ms Hoyt will study jazz voice intensively in Boston, USA for two years. Ms Cowling will pursue postgraduate study, travelling to Boston to complete a Masters of Music (Jazz Performance) and London to do the Guildhall Artist Masters in Performance (Vocal Studies) respectively. Ms Dahlenburg will relocate to Berlin to continue German language studies and audition for opportunities across Europe.
To view the announcements and hear from Perpetual’s General Manager of Philanthropy, Andrew Thomas, visit www.martenbequest.com.au
Honouring young artists across rotating categories, the five other categories of the scholarship to be awarded in 2016 are; architecture, ballet, instrumental music, poetry and prose. Applications will open in late 2015. For further details visit www.martenbequest.com.au
