2018 Recipients of The Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists Announced

Media Release

Image: Caroline Garcia Queen Of The Carabao (2018), 2-Channel Digital Video, 30mins

The Freedman Foundation and the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) are pleased to announce this year’s recipients of The Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists. 

Five artists have received $5,000 scholarships to assist with overseas travel to develop and expand their research and practice.

Interdisciplinary artist, Caroline Garcia (NSW) will travel to New York to undertake a two-year Masters of Fine Arts program at The New School / Parsons School of Design. Garcia’s practice is shaped by alterity, she works across live performance and video through a hybridised aesthetic of cross-cultural dance, ritual practice, new media, and the sampling of popular culture and colonial imagery.

“I’m so grateful to be a recipient of The Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship! The generosity that this award provides is a huge help in supporting and advancing my art practice and career both academically and internationally,” she said.

Lu Forsberg (Qld) will travel to Garpenberg, Kiruna and Aitik on a self-directed research project examining contemporary Swedish mining methods and mine rehabilitation. Forsberg is an experimental artist working primarily with video, assemblage and Geo browsers to examine the nexus between environmental, social and economic systems. Their practice is currently focused on the complexities of the mining industry, rehabilitation/ reclamation of mine sites, and accessibility.

Classically trained flautist turned sound artist, Mimi Kind (NSW) will travel to Bern, Switzerland for a nine-month internship with large-scale kinetic sound installation artist, Zimoun.

Kind said today, “I’m thrilled and honoured to have been awarded The Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists. This is such a fantastic opportunity for me to further my own practice of kinetic sound sculpture and installation, through understanding Zimoun’s approaches to mass-scale installations and repeated mechanisms, as well as connecting with other artists in this specialised field.”

Jimmy Nuttall (Vic) will complete a research led film work and dissertation on the relationship between queer identities, ancestries and contemporary online screen cultures during a one-year Masters in Artists Film and Moving Image at Goldsmiths, University of London.

“I am thrilled to be supported by this scholarship. To be able to study in this specialised Masters in Artists’ Film at Goldsmiths, London is a huge step in my practice and career,” said Nuttall. “The support of The Freedman Foundation via NAVA will allow me to push further my interest in the complexities of queer representation and narratives into a new and exciting zone for me.” 

Shireen Taweel (NSW) will travel to Turkey to learn master copper artisan skills with the Copper Tinsmith and Narce Association of Gaziantep. Taweel’s practice is rooted in cross-cultural discourse, where local-global dialogues influence her work through the refined processes of metallurgy. 

“This scholarship will provide significant support for a period of creative development for me where I will learn traditional skills and gather an understanding of copper, while further pushing my practice within a contemporary context,” said Taweel.

The Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship is one of the most prestigious grants offered by NAVA and supports talented young artists to develop their careers internationally through study, residency or mentorship. Since its inception in 2000, the scholarship has enabled over 85 emerging artists to expand and enrich their studio practice abroad.

An exhibition featuring works by this year’s recipients is being curated by Yarran Gatsby, who has received a Curatorial Scholarship from The Freedman Foundation through the Masters of Curating and Cultural Leadership program at UNSW Art & Design. The exhibition opens at UNSW Galleries on 28 September 2018 and will also showcase works by the returning scholars from 2016: Alice Couttoupes, Brigitte Hart, Olivia Koh, Anna McMahon and Georgia Saxelby.

The Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship and Curatorial Scholarship are administered by NAVA on behalf of The Freedman Foundation and assessed by Jacqueline Millner and Nick Vickers.