Rewards for diverse artists

THE Ballarat Arts Foundation has awarded its latest round of grants to eight diverse performers and creators.

At a ceremony at the Ballarat Tech School last week, recipients Adrian Liston, Sebastian Allen, Charlotte Chivers, Madison Sparkman, Ben Andrews, Fabienne Blythe, Nicholas Collins, and Spencer Harrison were celebrated.

BAF chair Paula Nicholson said the ceremony reinforced the high calibre of artists that the creative scene produces in Ballarat.

“The audience were in awe of the talent, diversity and dedication of the alumni rewarded with BAF grants this year,” she said.

Liston, a percussionist, is the recipient of the BLOC and Lyric Theatre Award for Performing Arts/Musical Theatre, and is set to purchase an electronic percussion pad to boost his performances.

Allen, the Jess Crowe Memorial awardee, is a composer and musician beginning tertiary music studies, and with the funding support, he’ll be able to buy a clarinet to advance his skills.

The Isobella Foundation Award went to Chivers, a ballet dancer studying dance in Zurich and aiming to perform at a top international level, while Sparkman, also a ballet dancer, is the inaugural Stubbs Roberts Award recipient, set to study with the Australian Ballet School in 2023.

Both their grants will cover the cost of pointe shoes and study expenses.

Andrews is the Jack Anderson Film awardee, set to acquire a high-capability graphics card to produce larger-scale and complex works, while painter, Blythe, has received the Norman Hofmaier Award, and will buy a new easel and equipment for studio practice.

The Haymes Family Foundation Award went to Harrison, a digital and video artist aiming to acquire a high-performance computer, and tenor, Collins, is the VJ Award recipient for international study, already in the Royal Northern College of Music classrooms in Manchester.