Creative Australia has announced the seven talented young artists who are recipients of this year’s Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships.
The $50,000 scholarships are offered to young artists (aged 21-35) and administered by Creative Australia on behalf of Perpetual as trustee. They enable recipients to explore, study and develop their talents through interstate and international travel.
Creative Australia CEO Adrian Collette AM said:
“These scholarships provide career defining opportunities and pathways for young artists to achieve their dreams, helping to realise the aim of late theatre artist John Chisolm Marten who established the charitable trust. The Marten Bequest is a great example of the enduring legacy of private investment in the arts, as the scholarships continue to nurture future generations of Australian creative talent.”
Sara Mansour is among the recipients, and said:
“I feel so honoured that other people also believe in my work and my vision. It is also humbling to be following in the footsteps of previous recipients and poets I admire like Candy Royalle, Sarah Holland-Batt and Judith Bishop. Receiving this scholarship represents so many opportunities that otherwise would have been financially inaccessible to me; mentorship, research, travel and ultimately, the development of my first book of poetry which I have been dreaming about for over a decade.”
Fellow recipient, Chloe Mayne, said:
“The Marten Bequest opens up my poetic horizons in profound ways, offering an opportunity to physically trace the veins of my motherline across three far-flung islands. Being the mother of a young child, I can only emphasise how meaningful the gift of spaciousness provided by the bequest is for my poetry, both now and into the future.”
Recipients:
- Emma McManus: Acting
- Aera Bradley: Acting
- Maria Moles: Instrumental Music
- Lorna Quinn: Painting
- Leon Zhan: Painting
- Chloe Mayne: Poetry
- Sara Mansour: Poetry
More information can be found on the Creative Australia website.
Media enquiries:
Brianna Roberts, Media Manager, Creative Australia
Mobile: 0498 123 541
Email: brianna.roberts@creative.gov.au
About The Marten Bequest Scholarships
The Marten Bequest Scholarships offer talented young artists the chance to explore, study and develop their artistic gifts through travelling either interstate and/or overseas.
The scholarships provide $50,000 to help talented Australian artists across a range of artforms achieve their dreams and are administered by Creative Australia on behalf of Perpetual as Trustee.
John Chisholm Marten (1908 – 1966) was born in Kent, England and moved to Australia at a young age, residing in Sydney for his adult life. John Marten was a theatrical artist and well known for his appreciation and support of the arts community.
A strong advocate for the artistic capabilities of young Australians, John understood the costs involved in study and training programs and established The Marten Bequest through a charitable trust.
About Perpetual Philanthropic Services
Perpetual is one of Australia’s largest managers of philanthropic funds, with $3.3 billion in funds under advice for charitable trusts and endowment funds (as at 30 June 2023). Perpetual is trustee for over 1000 charitable trusts and endowments and provides individuals and families with advice on establishing charitable foundations and structured giving programs. Each year Perpetual distributes more than $129 million to community organisations on behalf of its clients. Perpetual also assists charities and not-for-profit organisations with investment advice and management.
About Creative Australia
Creative Australia is the Australian Government’s principal arts investment and advisory body.
With artists at the heart of what we do, we invest in creative talent and stimulate the market for Australian stories to be told on a national and international scale, sharing our rich culture with the world. We do this because art and creativity define us, recording what we have been and what we might yet become. As a nation, creativity connects us and benefits us all.
We are proud of the Creative Australia’s (formerly Australia Council for the Arts) 50-year history of investing in First Nations arts and culture and supporting First Nations self-determination. Creative Australia will build on that legacy in 2024 when the inaugural First Nations-led Board will be appointed.
Creative Australia is for the artist. Creative Australia is for us all.
About the recipients:
Emma McManus (Victoria) – Acting
Emma McManus is an interdisciplinary artist working across performance, live art, experimental theatre, music and video art. Currently Emma is expanding on research into queer archives and developing new work with international collaborators.
Aera Bradley – (Victoria) – Acting
Aera Bradley is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice navigates the fluid boundaries between self-reflection and personal history, envisioning alternative realities that challenge dominant hegemonic frameworks. As a Chinese Australian transgender artist, their work delves into the intersections of race, culture, gender identity, class, and sexuality through performance, ritual, multimedia, and photographic alchemy.
With the support of the Marten Bequest scholarship, Aera will undertake self-led research, engage in body-centric workshops, and participate in a mentorship program in New York. This experience will also facilitate the artist’s engagement with a global network of diasporic artists, allowing for further exploration and development of their creative practice.
Maria Moles (Victoria) – Instrumental Music
Maria Moles is a drummer/percussionist who has been dedicated to composing electro-acoustic pieces for 17 years. She plans to travel to Japan, New York, Germany and the Philippines to perform, record and develop new music, connecting her Filipino heritage with her innovative composing methods.
Lorna Quinn (Victoria) – Painting
Lorna Quinn uses her painting to explore themes of death, desire, boundedness, regeneration, and the natural world.
Her work is influenced by interest in animism, speculative fiction, and psychoanalytic self-scrutiny. She will participate in the Turps School of Arts Studio Program in London focusing on intensive mentoring and peer support.
Leon Zhan (Victoria) – Painting
Leon Zhan, the Melbourne-born Chinese artist, explores the interplay of cross-cultural themes through painting and sculpture. He plans to undertake an MFA at Pratt Institute in New York, dedicated to expanding his artistic practice and networks within the international arts community.
Chloe Mayne (Tasmania) – Poetry
Chloe Mayne is a widely published poet who has presented at writers’ festivals across the country. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Philosophy, as well as a Master of Teaching, and is currently completing a creative doctorate in the realms of motherhood, decoloniality and ecology. Chloe is a descendant of the Trawlwoolway people of north-eastern Tasmania. Her scholarship will focus on writing her first full-length poetry collection, involving research and residencies in Rodrigues (Mauritius) and Ireland, exploring her maternal lineage and Tasmanian identity.
Sara Mansour (NSW) – Poetry
Sara Mansour has led the Bankstown Poetry Slam for over 10 years, curating events and coordinating high school poetry programs. As a lawyer and poet, her work reflects her journey from internalised shame to pride in her heritage and identity.
Her scholarship will allow her to focus on her first poetry collection, exploring themes of home and womanhood. She plans to travel to Lebanon, the UK, and the US for mentorship, residencies, and performance opportunities.