Announcing the 2023 WEVAA Fellowships

The West of England Visual Arts Alliance (WEVAA) aims to transform Bristol and the West of England into a place where the visual arts can thrive, providing critical opportunities and support to enable diverse local artists, curators and young people to develop their careers and achieve their potential. Each Fellow will receive support worth £10,000 to develop their practice through ambitious new projects.

Kat Anderson

Kat Anderson is a visual artist, musician, and filmmaker from Bristol currently working under a film and research framework called Episodes of Horror, which explores the representations of mental illness and trauma; as experienced by and or projected upon Black bodies, and as constructed and recorded using lens-based media and literature. Utilising ‘Horror’ - a genre which draws audiences in for entertainment but leaves us questioning everyday horrors - the work asks its audience to reflect upon our current cultural and social landscape of systemic social injustices and race relations, as well as drastically increased levels of mental illness.

For the fellowship, Kat will develop a new project that considers the effect of trauma on the voice of Black womxn; the vocalisation and reception of Black trauma, protest in public spaces, and the policing of Black womxn’s voices. The work will respond to the marginalisation of the Black womxn and enable the activation and amplification of her voice through vocal and sonic experimentation and composition, contextualised within a long history of Black sonic experimental political resistance.

Music to Come

Evolving out of the DIY community, Music to Come aims to develop a lasting framework for artists and projects working with sound, experimental music and performance. The fellowship will be used to build relationships with diverse artists and groups working in this field. It will explore ways of supporting them individually and collectively in the long term to develop, produce and present new work, reach wider audiences and progress their careers through commissions, collaborations and tours. A key objective is to research and develop a sustainable and cooperative platform for resourcing projects and representing artists working in this critical area of independent creative practice. The website musictocome.com will be launched in spring 2023.

Music to Come is initiated by Dali de Saint Paul, Max Kelan and Al Cameron. Dali de Saint Paul is a vocalist, curator and label member whose practice foregrounds community and improvisation. Best known for the Ephemeral Project 64 (EP/64) which has gathered more than 40 artists around her, she is also part of post classical feminist group Viridian Ensemble and industrial duo Harrga. Max Kelan is a multidisciplinary artist whose work crosses industrial and electronic music, video making, experimental poetry and provocative performance. A core member of bands Salac and Bad Tracking, the Slack Alice and Avon Terror Corps collectives, and a solo artist, he is responsible for countless performances, events, broadcasts, releases and publications. Al Cameron is a curator, DIY producer, researcher and educator working professionally and creatively at the juncture of sound, music, written and visual cultures.

Weston Artspace

Weston Artspace is a socially engaged visual arts organisation and hub for the creative community in the heart of Weston. It is a CIC and member-led community art studio that offers artists a place to meet, create and make connections. Weston Artspace supports artists and cultivates an environment where people can develop their networks, take risks and foster ambition. Anyone is welcome whether they identify as an artist or not, and the space is available to all who need it regardless of background or life experiences.

The WEVAA fellowship will support Weston Artspace to broaden the scope of their work by developing management roles, and implementing new systems and development processes that will support the organisation to become sustainable. New programmes and workshops will be introduced for members, as well as materials and resources for production. This project is the first step in a longer-term vision for the visual arts ecology in Weston, that will see skills development and business support the growing creative community.

Research and development bursaries

This year, we are excited to confirm that 14 artists were awarded bursaries of between £500 and £1000 to further their practice and create a step change in their careers. Their projects include a range of activities, from mentoring and training, to opportunities to travel and develop new work. The selected artists are Beth Luxton, Bo Lanyon, Brian Gibson, Bryony Gillard, Camille Aubry, Belovitch, Frances Willoughby, Jade Ayino, Lydia Halcrow, Nigel Goldsmith, Olivia Brelsford-Massey, Ruth Ander, Steve Dutton and Vicky Smith.

Look out for future news about how this support has impacted the selected artists' practices.

About WEVAA

Over the next three years, the West of England Visual Arts Alliance (WEVAA) programme aims to transform Bristol and the West of England into a place where the visual arts can thrive, providing critical opportunities and support to enable diverse local artists, curators and young people to develop their careers and achieve their potential.

Co-led by Spike Island and Visual Arts South West, the consortium includes partners Bath Spa University School of Art, Bristol City Council, The Brunswick Club, Creative Youth Network, Culture Weston, North Somerset Council and UWE Bristol. Our collective vision is for the visual arts community in Bristol and the West of England to be more progressive, sustainable and inclusive by 2024.