Gray’s exhibition celebrates rising star awarded Freelands Studio Fellowship

Gray’s School of Art is one of six leading art and design institutions in the UK to host the esteemed Freelands Studio Fellowship which aims to broaden access to art education and the visual arts across the UK.

Esther Thorniley-Walker is the first artist to have received the prestigious Freelands Studio Fellowship at Gray’s School of Art. Esther who is originally from North Yorkshire, graduated from the University of Brighton in 2018, with a Fine Art Painting degree and the University of York, with a History of Art MA in 2020.

The Fellowships run for a year and are awarded annually to talented early career artists who are then invited to spend a year in one of the collaborating art schools to develop their practice.  Recipients receive a £22,000 bursary alongside a designated studio space, a teaching mentor, opportunities to work with and teach students, and also receive a solo exhibition as key part of their fellowship.

Esther’s exhibition, ‘As they’ve grown, so I stand’, opens with an opening launch on Thursday 14 December (from 6pm – 9pm) and runs from 15 – 17 December (11am – 4pm) at the Look Again Project Space on St.Andrews Street in Aberdeen.

The exhibition will showcase a collection of Esther’s paintings that explore nature’s ever-changing cycles of growth and mortality.

Esther says she is honoured to be Gray’s first ever Freelands Studio Fellow and excited to be showcasing her work produced over her fellowship. She says her work is inspired by her childhood adventures growing up in the North York Moors which she enjoyed roaming great expanses of open land and getting lost of nature.

Esther said: “It is such a privilege to be chosen as the very first Freelands Studio Fellow at Gray’s School of Art. Over the past year, Gray’s, has become my home. I have lived and breathed paint in my studio. Gray’s is such a warm and friendly environment to be part of and the painting staff have been incredibly supportive.  I have been welcomed into a network that I hope will extend beyond my period of time here in Aberdeen.

“I have gained invaluable experience of teaching in Gray’s painting department and have really enjoyed leading workshops, tutorials, group discussions and helping the students of Gray’s prepare for their shows. I’ve also developed connections with the Freelands Fellows at the five other universities, as well as Gray’s in-house painting resident recipients Annalisa and Kinga, and value the support and sense of community amongst both of these groups.”

Dean of Gray’s School of Art, Libby Curtis said: “We are delighted to showcase the work of our first Freeland’s Foundation Studio Fellow. Working in partnership with the Freelands Foundation to broaden access to art education and the visual arts which shares a fundamental goal with our wider work in the School in supporting new creatives and creating new opportunities.

“Our partnership demonstrates the vital contribution RGU is making to enhance social and cultural development in the North East of Scotland and to support creative talent such as Esther’s represents. The exhibition is part of a range of events and exhibitions supported by our creative unit, Look Again, which aims to connect, highlight and strengthen the region’s creative sector.”

A spokesperson from the Freelands Foundation said: “We are so excited for Esther Thorniley- Walker's exhibition at the culmination of her year as the first Freelands Studio Fellow at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. Her success in producing an exciting new body of paintings whilst embedded in the life of the university illuminates the energy generated at the intersection of making, teaching and learning.”

Alumni of any of the 5 other schools can apply to be a Freelands Studio Fellow at Gray’s but Gray’s alumni can only apply to one of the other 5 art schools.

To find out more visit Look Again and find out more about the Freelands Foundation.