2 March 2004

New era for Dundee University art graduates

Three visual artists today (2 March) received prestigious scholarships from the University of Dundee in the first round of a new postgraduate award scheme.

The awards are part of a new drive to boost postgraduate study at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (DJCAD) with a total of 24 bursaries available for PhD study and the creation of a new multi-disciplinary unit for taught postgraduate courses.

William Sangster Phillips died on October 19 2001, shortly before his 100th birthday. His father, Charles Gustave Louis Phillips was an artist of some distinction whose paintings are now looked after by Dundee Heritage Trust. The Trustees of the late William S Phillips' Fund have awarded funding to DJCAD to assist studentships.

John McGhee, Cordelia Underhill and Kirsty Stansfield will each receive a William S. Phillips Fund Award of £5000 as well as fee remission.

The Faculty is grateful for the establishment of these awards which will add to its growing reputation for doctoral and post doctoral studies, with students able to work in a purpose built environment in DCA at our Visual Research Centre. This centre provides a hot house for students studying for their doctorate, and ensures that the multi-disciplinary approach to research is maintained across our provision, designers work with architects, fine artists and those in the digital domain. It is this mix that is the innovation and real strength behind the success of our programmes.

The Faculty encourages applications from individuals who have a defined field of investigation and the drive and commitment to develop the new knowledge that will shape the future of practice in the visual arts.

Editors' notes

The Late William S Phillips' Fund Awards are available for advanced students capable of producing a substantive body of work or meaningful research in the art and design fields. Art and design covers a wide range of fields in both traditional and innovative approaches to the discipline.

This year awards from the above Fund, have been accepted by:

Cordelia Underhill who will be studying in the School of Fine Art, looking at "How Does Drawing Through Figuration Illuminate the Narratives of Cultural and Social Experience?"

Cordelia Underhill has a 1st class BA Hons in Fine Art from DJCAD and a Masters in Fine Art and Theory from Middlesex University. She has several years experience in community art including working with psychiatric patients, homeless people and immigrant/refugee mothers.

Cordelia has exhibited in various London and Dundee galleries, and was the recipient of the T Dalghety Dunn Award for Fine Art in Dundee in 1994. She also took up a residential scholarship at Hospital Field House in Arbroath, and has worked on collaborations with German artist Veronica Seifert and the poet Frances Williams.

Kirsty Stansfield will be based in the School of Television & Imaging and she will be conducting "An exploration of sound and interactivity".

Kirsty has a BA (Hons) in Sculpture from Glasgow School of Art and an MSc in Electronic Imaging from DJCAD. Her art work has a strong research basis which has been developed through international residencies, exhibitions and awards, supported by the Scottish Digital Media Fund, the National Association of Artists of Catalunya, and the Arts Council’s of Scotland and England.

Kirsty is currently researching a body of work commissioned by the VIVID arts centre in Birmingham. Working in close collaboration with the Department of Computing at the University of Lancaster and with the Jewellery Industry Innovation Centre in Birmingham, this involves creating interactive sound objects, using sensing technologies and precious metals.

John McGhee will be studying in the School of Television & Imaging, with a research proposal on "Applied creative 3D Animation and Visualisation in Medical Imaging".

John graduated from Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen, in product design in 1998 before taking up a post as a new media designer in a Glasgow design agency. It was here that he first became interested in applying 3D animation software to medical subject matter.

He completed an MSc in Animation & Visualisation at DJCAD in 2003. This Award will enable him to continue his project research on the relevance of creative 3D visualisation and animation technologies in medical sciences.

By Esther Black, Press Officer 01382 344768, out of hours: 07968298585, e.z.black@dundee.ac.uk