and the winner is.....

Well the day arrived when everyone could see what all that fundraising was for - the newest recipient of the far south coast living artist scholarship was announced today at 12 (high) noon at Bega Valley Regional Gallery.....

In a lovely speech Karen O'Cleary from Narek Galleries (and much of the force behind the inception of the fsclap scholarship) congratulated the four finalists - Matthew Jones, Eryca Green, Craig Cameron, and Stan Squire for the quality of their scholarship applications - and pointed out that it's no mean feat being named a finalist in this increasingly prestigious and competitive award!

Karen at the very large lectern.....

And the winner is.......

Matthew Jones - aka Matt, aka Matty, aka Mister Jones
(caught here in the middle of his 'gee thanks' speech)

Matt was a finalist in the previous scholarship round, but this time clinched the prize (to little real surprise - if you've not seen his work, you owe it to yourself to check out his site or his walk-in studio space in Bermagui - fabulous stuff!)

Matt submitted an ambitious and expansive project in his scholarship proposal (more about this in a future post....) that really caught the attention of the judges - Helen Maxwell, Megan Bottari and Andy Townsend - it will be interesting watching his project unfold over 2011-2012.....

the fsclap scholarship threesome - previous scholarship recipients Poppy Benton
and Tanja Riese (now the fsclap president and vice president respectively)
have a group huddle with Matt....

this is what the fsclap committee and volunteers have been working so hard for.... don't they all look so happy! (p.s. I was smiling too - mostly because I'm always on the other end of the camera!)


and to all the supporters of the fsclap - a very big THANK YOU...... you're the biggest part of the this home-grown success story!



.. pics by rhonda ayliffe

find us on facebook..

hey there everyone - we've got our own page on facebook - you'll find it here:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/living-artist-projects/113344045366013

why not drop by and give living-artist-projects a big facebook thumbs up or leave us a nice message


(ps keep your eyes on the blog here over the next few days for a sneak peek of works on offer at the auction this weekend.... I KNOW that there's something great for everyone....)

welcome!

well hello there!

and welcome to the blog site of Far South Coast Living Artist Projects (fsclap) or the 'living artist' blog as you'll usually see us refer to ourselves. In case you've stumbled upon this blog from somewhere out of the blue (rather than via a link from our main website) its probably worth repeating WHAT 'living artist' projects is all about..... (you can read the following complete with pretty piccies here)

"For those of you who are not familiar with Living Artist this interesting brief history tells the tale.

The Far South Coast Living Artist Projects Inc. (Living Artist) objective is to provide opportunities for Far South Coast visual artists to develop excellence in their practices by providing mentorship, education, financial and marketing support in a bid to retain them in the region. Living Artist does this in partnership with local communities as part of a broader goal to raise the regional profile of Art and Artists on the Far South Coast. The biennial scholarship allocation may vary with each award but is approximately $35,000. All funds are raised by the committee or generously donated by patrons.

Living Artist evolved from several discussions between a group of friends with a common interest or involvement in visual arts. They observed that although there are a number of artists of international repute living and working in the area, there are also many who struggle to find the time for concentrated professional development. Often artists with potential to become outstanding in their field, reach a critical point where, if assisted and encouraged, are eventually able to support themselves through their art practice.

Living Artist is supported by the Australia Cultural Fund of the Australian Business Arts Foundation (allowing tax deductibility for donations) and endorsed by the South East Arts Region (SEAR) and the Bega Valley Shire Council and is a community partner of the Four Winds Festival and Sculpture on the Edge."

And the purpose of this blog is to informally share information about everything going on with, in, and about the far south coast living artist projects ...... well maybe not EVERYTHING..... there's always so much happening behind the scenes it would be impossible to post every little thing that goes into making the living artist project the amazing success story that it is.


We hope you'll come back often and share in the story.