2022 Emerging Artist in Residence Announced
Mount Stuart announce 2022 Emerging Artist in Residence and exhibition on Bute for 2021 resident artist
Mount Stuart Trust is delighted to announce the successful applicant for its 2022 Emerging Artist in Residence: Maya Rose Edwards. The artist plans to work in residence on Bute in collaboration with young people and local LGBTQ+ communities to explore ideas surrounding queer identity within a rural/island context. Maya (b. 1999) graduated from Sculpture and Environmental Art at Glasgow School of Art in 2021. She has received a range of accolades including the Origins Creative Arts Festival Best Young Practitioner 2018, an Emergent Artists residency with Culture Collective 2021, being selected for the RSA New Contemporaries 2021 and a Creative Scotland’s Youth Arts Bursary 2022.

In response to her selection Maya said, ”Throughout my residency at Mount Stuart, I look forward to working with young people and local LGBTQ+ communities to interrogate the connection between Queer/Rural identities through participation and public art. Rural spaces are that of invention and exploration and during the project I hope to reveal the mimesis between these two seemingly opposing identities."
Just as Maya prepares to start her project on Bute, Kaya Fraser will present an installation as a result of her experience as the 2020/21 Emerging Artist in Residence from Saturday 3 September until 17 September, at the Discovery Centre on Bute.
Milk + Two Sugars is the sound work that evolved from the socially engaged project of the same name early last year. Due to Covid restrictions throughout Kaya’s residency, this is the first time her work will be heard by the community in its intended sound installation set-up. Through remote telephone conversations from her kitchen in Perth, Kaya invited calls from residents of housing estates in Rothesay to phone her and blether over a cup of tea. On chatting to four residents from the Bush, the Goy and Barone; Molly, Betty, Euan and Virginia, a collaborative process formed the sound piece interspersed with field recordings of the places each collaborator calls home.

Kaya says, “The sound work's original purpose was to open the dialogue and connection to the island's essence and its people, something often overshadowed by its idyllic landscapes. So we begin with a cuppa tea and start the day by talking about the home's day-to-day history through the conversations, be it the four walls, the scheme, the town, or the island. And some of the specifics these effects have on shaping our memories and place in a community.”
She added, “The Mount Stuart residency programme supports emerging artists interested in developing their paths in socially engaged art and working with communities to help break barriers and access art."
Kaya will be at the Discovery Centre on 3 September, 10am-12pm for a chat over tea and coffee. The work will be available to listen to at the Discovery Centre daily until 17 September.