The Isle of Man Arts Council has announced the recipients of its annual student awards for 2020/21.
Awarded to students moving into or currently in further or higher education, the three awards are each worth £10,000 over the duration of a course.
The Jonathan Gollow Award for Performing Arts has been awarded to Fraser Rowe, who will be attending the Royal Northern College of Music to study for a BMus (Hons) degree in Popular Music.
Fraser said:
'I am extremely excited to see where this will take my musical career. As an instrumentalist I get a lot of joy out of performing live gigs and I hope to be able to one day make a career out of that in the UK or further away.
'I would also like to say that I am immensely grateful for the support that the Arts Council have provided for me and to many other businesses and creatives; the work that they do is truly amazing and opens up so many amazing opportunities to people.'
The Norman Sayle Award for Visual Art and Literature has been awarded to Laeth Quellin, who will be attending The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama for a BA (Hons) degree in Writing for Performance.
Laeth said:
'My time growing up on the Island heavily influenced my work and I find myself throwing my mind back to the memories I have there, when writing scripts or prose. Ultimately with my training at Central, I strive to impact theatre and film in a unique way with my dedication to exploring folklore, superstitions and their impact on the human psyche. I am immeasurably grateful that this award is allowing me to act on these goals.'
The Isle of Man Arts Council Award has been awarded to Joshua Molyneux, who is studying for a Diploma in Musical Theatre at the Performance Preparation Academy.
Joshua said:
'I am so happy and grateful to have won this award. Without this award it wouldn't have been possible for me to finish my course so I am so grateful to everyone at the Isle of Man Arts Council for not only considering my application but for picking me to receive it. It genuinely means the world to me and has changed my life. I'm looking forward to another great year at PPA with the Isle of Man Arts Council pushing me on!'
Chairman of the Isle of Man Arts Council Marlene Maska MLC commented:
'Knowing the challenges which are facing so many of our students and young people this year, I am privileged to be involved in this really positive news and proud that IOMAC is able to offer support to these very talented young artists. The standard of applications was extremely high which made for very difficult decisions by Council.
'I feel sure that I speak for all members of IOMAC, together with DESC, our sponsoring department, when I offer warmest congratulations to all three of our recipients and wish them well in their chosen studies on the pathway to a future career in the arts.'
The awards are named in memory of former Isle of Man Arts Council members, music promoter Jonathan Gollow and artist Norman Sayle, and are awarded annually.
Further information on Isle of Man Arts Council funding and supported events can be found at www.iomarts.com
