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Charlene Clempson at Red Gate Gallery, Beijing
Q&A with our 2019 Claire Peasnall Memorial Fund recipient - Charlene Clempson
As we prepare to accept applications for our Arts Award programmes in 2020, here are a few brief thoughts on the application process from one of last year's winners, Charlene Clempson.
In 2019, Charlene Clempson became the first successful recipient of our Claire Frances Peasnall Memorial Award, a new Award in the name of one of our previous St Hugh's Foundation award recipients, which was made possible through a generous donation from Claire's family
The Claire Frances Peasnall Memorial Fund is:
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specifically open to artists working mainly as painters, but also to those working with drawing,
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and is intended to provide an opportunity for the recipient to travel outside the Foundation’s area of benefit in order to create work or develop their practice.
Claire used her Award to develop a body of drawings exploring the theme of diaspora through travel to China for a residency at Red Gate gallery (Beijing).
Here, she reflects briefly on the application process:
What made you think about applying to the St Hugh's Foundation for the Arts?
I applied for the fund because it placed an emphasis on developing a project rather than a project being fully fledged.
The application process is a little lengthy (in the end Charlene was invited to attend an interview after submitting her initial application, which is not always the case with the Claire Peasnall Memorial Fund) but not as disappointing as other funding bids/application processes. Usually when applying for local funds the application form itself is a lengthy experience - whereas the St Hugh's Fund is self explanatory and clearly set out.
Do you have any advice for people wishing to apply in the future? Was there anything you know now that you wish you had known when you were originally applying to the Foundation?
I would advise that you keep a copy of the application form just in case you need to refer back to it at a later date.
Looking back, I wonder if I was trying to include too much in my project plan - I wish I had not placed an emphasis on showing the work locally as well as producing the work . As a project develops you still need the ability for it to change direction - in producing the work you might want to reconsider how the work should be shown. You might need more time.
What were some of the main impacts of the award on your practice?
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Connections to Chinese galleries, spaces and creatives
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My work was exhibited in Beijing
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Collaboration opportunities with other artists
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Time away to begin other works and see other artists
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Experimentation, and the ability to exhibit the experiment
Please take a look at our application form for the Claire Frances Peasnall Memorial Fund here www.sthughsfoundation.co.uk/assets/downloads/ClairePeasnallApplicationForm_FINAL2020 if you are interested in making an application to the Fund in 2020. The deadline for this year's applications is 5pm on the 28th February 2020.