Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship 2021

In its 23rd year, the annual Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship has been awarded to five artists, each of whom receive $10,000 and the offer of a two-week residency at Shark Island Kangaroo Valley in New South Wales.

The recipients are: Mia Boe, age 24 from Melbourne, Victoria; Emma Rani Hodges, age 25 from Belconnen, ACT; Shannon McCulloch, age 26 from Brunswick, Victoria; Jacquie Meng, age 23 from Watson, ACT; and Thea Anamara Perkins, age 29 from Marrickville, NSW.

These artists, along with seven other finalists, were selected from 201 entries by guest artist judge Abdul Abdullah, who – with Wendy Whiteley – has curated an exhibition of paintings from the bodies of work of each finalist and scholarship recipient, which is on display at the Brett Whiteley Studio.

The annual scholarship was created from an endowment by Beryl Whiteley, who died in 2010. The inspiration was the profound effect international travel and study had on her son, the artist Brett Whiteley, as a result of winning the Italian Government Travelling Art Scholarship at the age of 20.

Previously, the scholarship was awarded to a single artist each year and included a three-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and $40,000. However, due to COVID-19 international travel restrictions, it has not been possible to host the 2020 and 2021 scholarship recipients overseas, leading to a local residency for five artists, thanks to the generosity of Shark Island Kangaroo Valley.