Five talented young Australians awarded scholarships
Winners of 2012 Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships announced
The Trust Company, as Trustee, and the 2012 Judges are pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships.Announced this evening at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the sought-after scholarships, each worth $20,000, were awarded in the fields of Architecture, Ballet, Instrumental Music, Poetry and Prose to five young Australians.
“Awarded annually to talented young artists, the Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships were established by John Chisholm Marten, a life-long patron of the arts and literature. The Trust Company, as Trustee, promotes the legacy of Marten through administering these scholarships; supporting aspiring young artists to develop their gifts and achieve their dreams through travelling either abroad or interstate. As Trustee, we are delighted to award these five talented young Australians with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said John Atkin, Chief Executive Officer, The Trust Company
Architecture
Melbourne based Michael Barraclough, 30, has won the 2012 Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship in architecture. Michael is one of Australia’s most promising young architects and the Judges were unanimous in their decision.
“We believe that Michael will go on to contribute to the advancement of architecture in Australia; being awarded the Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship will help make this possible,” said one of the 2012 Judges, Alec Tzannes (Dean and Professor, Faculty of the Built Environment, University of New South Wales). We were incredibly impressed by his academic achievements and by the diversity of his professional experience to date, having already worked for two of Australia’s leading architectural practices.”
Michael will use his scholarship to fund his post-graduate study in London at the influential Architectural Association, Design Research Laboratory (AADRL).
“Only a few leading architects have the knowledge and skills to maximize a building’s potential using both existing and novel architectural theory and practice. I hope to move towards becoming one of those few,” said Michael Barraclough.
Ballet
19 year old Aeden Pittendreigh from Brisbane has been awarded the ballet scholarship for 2012. Aeden began his dance training at the age of five and is currently in his second year of training at the English National Ballet School in London.
Ex-Principal Ballet Dancer and 2012 Judge, Robert Olup said: “Being awarded this scholarship will assist Aeden in gaining his ultimate goal of becoming a professional ballet dancer. There’s a very special quality to Aeden’s dancing, and it is our strong opinion that he would be a welcome member of any professional ballet company.”
“The Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship will allow me to attend ballet auditions all around the world, with the aim of securing a contract with a professional ballet company in 2013,” said Aeden Pittendreigh.
Instrumental Music
Talented pianist Aura Go has won the 2012 Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship for instrumental music. Quickly emerging as one of Australia’s foremost young musicians, Aura has been concerto soloist with many of Australia’s professional orchestras and will be releasing her first CD ‘Five Rocks in a Japanese Garden’ later this year.
Jo Beaumount, Artistic Director, Classical Gigs (and part of the 2012 Judging Panel) said “Aura’s clear sense of purpose and realism impressed each of the Judges. She is clearly much more than an extremely talented musician; she is a young woman with ambition and drive who will be putting her scholarship to immediate use.”
“This award will enable me to live in Helsinki, Finland to undertake the Doctor of Music in Performance degree program at the prestigious Sibelius Academy. During this time, I will perform five public concerts in Helsinki; an amazing opportunity,” said Aura Go.
Poetry
The 2012 Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship for poetry was awarded to Queenslander, Michelle Dicinoski, whose first poetry book, ‘Electricity for Beginners’, was published in 2011.
“Michelle’s writing has a documentary aspect to it in which she expresses the physical space of suburban Australia. She then interrogates it, in an almost erotic way. We envisage that the Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships will provide Michelle with the opportunity to bring energy and commitment to the development of her poetry and return to Australia enriched,” said Anna Kerdijk Nicholson (Judge) and Board Member of Australian Poetry.
“I have received invitations to read from my first poetry collection at events in London, Budapest and Auckland. Winning the scholarship allows me to accept these invitations and conduct an international reading tour. I will also attend two intensive summer poetry workshops, one in Portugal and another in the United States,” said Michelle Dicinoski.
Prose
The winner of the 2012 Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship for prose was Christopher Currie, a fiction writer from Brisbane who also has a well-known website, ‘Furious Horses’.
“Christopher is a young writer of great promise, wit, and invention. His prose has been finely tuned by a decade of writing short fiction. His writing demonstrates a control of technique and a knowingness about his characters,” said Bernadette Brennan, Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney (and 2012 Judge).
Christopher will use his scholarship to travel to Winterthur, Switzerland to become an Artist-in-Residence. Christopher Currie said “Winning the 2012 Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship will allow me uninterrupted time to work on an historical novel loosely based on the life of artist Marc Chagall. More than this, though, the unique European environment will be a singularly inspiring and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
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2012 winners - press release (235 KB)