We established the Gillian Dickinson North East Young Sculptor Award as a way to encourage and support recent graduates to develop their first design proposals and commissions and I mentored over 50 new artists to develop site specific proposals over 5 years.
Each spring visitors to Cheeseburn Sculpture were able to visit the exhibition of the artists proposals and vote for their favourite idea. The winning artist received a bursary and I supported them to create their project in the grounds at Cheeseburn for the following years programme. The project aimed to provide professional experiences to a group of artists at the beginning of their creative careers and showcase the fantastic potential of young artists in the North East.
The chronology of winning artists and proposals included Dan Gough's Scurry made of 2000 cast ceramic squirrels in 2017; Peter Hanmer's installation of dystopian miniature figures for Platos Lair in 2018, Clare Townley's installation of recycled plastic in the woodlands called Nostalgia De La Boue in 2019; Bethan Williams mobile painted cubes called Beatrice and her friends in 2020 and Laurie Powell's Library of Ninevah made from hand dug clay from 8 Northumbrian rivers; and in 2021 we supported 5 further artists to realise their proposals for the project retrospective including Jed Buttress, Rebecca Marrs, Cameron Lings, Maximiliane Ley and Jenny McNamara.
