TALENTED YEOVIL COLLEGE STUDENTS AWARDED ARTS ASSOCIATION GRANTS

Two talented Yeovil College Art & Design students have been presented with grants by the Yeovil Community Arts Association (YCAA).

Yeovil College Art & DesignEach year, the YCAA raises money through its annual, international writing competition, the Yeovil Literary Prize.  Writers are invited to submit poems, short stories and novels for a small fee.  After paying the prizes and the judges’ fees, the revenue then contributes to supporting a range of arts and artists in the area.  This year, the YCAA presented 12 grants, including those to support college and university students during their training.

Level 3 Art & Design students Fiona McKenna (18) of Shepton Mallet and Callum Trowbridge (19) of Blandford Forum were presented with their prizes by Liz Pike of the YCAA.

Mrs Pike said “Although we’ve worked with it for many years, the YCAA has wanted to strengthen its links with Yeovil College. These students are our future and the College is part of our community. We’re proud of these young people and what they’ve achieved and look forward to hearing about what they do next. Past recipients have put their grants to good use and progressed to exciting things. We love hearing from them.”

Callum Trowbridge (19) of Blandford Forum said “This grant is a great opportunity for me because I don’t have a job so can’t afford lots of art materials. At the moment I have to pester my mum!  I’m really pleased with the money and am thinking about using it to get the train to London. I want to visit the National Portrait Gallery because I love the human form and renaissance style. I think it’s so organic and active and full of hidden symmetry.  I find it really interesting.” After College, Callum plans to go to Falmouth University to study Illustration.

Fiona McKenna (18) of Shepton Mallet said “I was very shocked to receive one of these grants but am very grateful to the YCAA. I’m planning to buy some photography equipment, including a zoom lens and a camera stand. I’m also going to put it towards things like paint, brushes and art books. This grant will definitely help me with my course.”  Fiona wants to do an Apprenticeship in Photography when she finishes her Extended Diploma next year, ready for a career in sport and wildlife photography.

Callum and Fiona were nominated by their lecturers, Emma Gordon, Nick Rievely and Andy Rollo. Ms Gordon said “The YCAA contacted us looking for very talented and hardworking students with 100% attendance, which describes Callum and Fiona to a tee.  While we have lots of amazing students, Callum and Fiona stood out for us because they’ve consistently achieved the highest grades and shown exceptional creative and artistic skill throughout their Level 2 and Level 3 courses. They are excellent ambassadors for the College and we are very proud of them. We’re very grateful to the YCAA for supporting such deserving students and we know that they’ll use the money well.”

For more information on the YCAA, please visit http://www.yeovilarts.co.uk/.

www.yeovil.ac.uk / www.ucy.ac.uk      @YeovilCollege

Photograph shows Fiona McKenna (18) of Shepton Mallet and Callum Trowbridge (19) of Blandford Forum receiving their grants from Liz Pike of the Yeovil Community Arts Association.