BA (Hons) Fine Art student Eva Grinvalde shares this year’s prestigious New Graduate Award with fellow student Leoni Dingwall! The award is a post-education professional development opportunity to support North East-based creative graduates from Arts Council National Portfolio Organisations Middlesbrough Art Week and The Auxiliary Project space.
The award aims to support selected graduates from North East institutions with an artist and materials fee, three months of free studio space at The Auxiliary, talks by local artists with a focus on professional development, one-to-one crits with curators from Middlesbrough Art Week, and a space to showcase their graduate work at MAW, which takes place this September. Middlesbrough Art Weekend (MAW) is a visual arts festival that takes place across the town of Middlesbrough in galleries, institutions, project spaces, museums, and public and meanwhile spaces.
International student Eva Grinvalde, 21 years old, from Latvia, said, “My reaction to receiving the award was initially shock. I honestly could not believe it, followed by a wave of excitement. I was jumping around my living room.”
Eva’s work focuses on her experience as an immigrant. She explains, “My concept for my project was to create a series of paintings that reflected my migration experience. In this particular series, I was trying to express how it feels to be a migrant residing in England and some of the struggles you have to face, such as being looked at or treated differently because I am an immigrant, hence the imagery of flags, walls and gates in my paintings to express this feeling.”
Speaking of her experience studying BA (Hons) Fine Art, she said, “The Fine Art course is very well laid out and provides support for many different career choices. Over these three years, I have learned so many new things and different skills, from photography, welding and sculpture to understanding how to set up and curate an exhibition in a professional group setting. This course, in my opinion, gives you all the tools needed to start your professional career in the art community.”
When asked what her advice is for future students, she said, “I would tell them to use all the resources provided by the university and the course to set up a very solid foundation for starting your art career. Make connections and make sure you enjoy what you create. As for living in Hartlepool, there are lots of different things to see and explore. I would recommend taking lots of walks, as there are lots of different things to see, from the Navy Museum to the beaches and the parks all around. One of my favourite things about Hartlepool is the train station, which can take you all across England.”
Reflecting on her time at the School, she said, “One of my favourite memories at this School is making a lifelong friend, Meg.”
To see more of Eva’s work click here.
If you are interested in a career in fine art our degree programme our degree is a well established and dynamic course, that offers students the freedom and resources needed to define their practice. Find out more about BA (Hons) Fine Art today!