Since 2021, The Stewarts Foundation has provided a scholarship and bursary funding to a postgraduate student on the Royal Academy Schools course. Current bursary recipient Maya Gurung-Russell Campbell has provided an update on the first year of her studies, alongside an update from her tutor Margarita Gluzberg.
Maya previously completed a BA (Hons) Photography at London College of Communication and was selected for Bloomberg’s New Contemporaries. She had her first solo show Folklore Imaginary at 87 Gallery in 2022 and is an Artiq selected artist.
Stewarts also partners with the Royal Academy of Arts to sponsor the annual RA Schools Show, the acclaimed exhibition that marks the culmination of the three year postgraduate programme. Maya’s work will be displayed at the 2026 Schools Show.
Maya’s update
Before starting at the Royal Academy Schools, I had never had a studio space due to rising rent costs in London and having studied analogue photography as opposed to fine art. I previously graduated from BA Photography at London College of Communication in 2021; my only experience of an arts education was hugely affected by the pandemic and the last two academic years were spent largely at home on Zoom. Joining the RA Schools in October meant suddenly gaining a tightly knit artistic community that I know I’ll continue to grow with over the next two academic years, sharing space and learning from each other. The workshops introduced me to many new ways of working, such as screen-printing, ceramics and welding, but also are a place to play and experiment with new materials.
In the first and second term, I learnt mould-making and casting, which involved me casting found objects in clay and then firing them to turn them into ceramics. I particularly was interested in using porcelain due to the history of the material, and was able to afford black porcelain, which is a lot more expensive than standard porcelain. To be able to afford to purchase large quantities of black porcelain slip has meant there has been room for error, whilst I get to know the qualities and behaviour of this new material. Throughout the entirety of the first year, I’ve been working on a series of flag-works which see me obtaining collectible Union Jack and St George’s flags, disassembling them and creating new hanging, knotted forms. They’ve been able to expand and take up space as I’ve been able to really invest in materials and equipment such as purchasing a new sewing machine, rope and different types of hooks to play with installation.
I’ve also been able to extend my analogue photography practice through 1-1 mentorship with photographer Magda Kuca, who specialises in experimental processes and have specifically produced a new series of wet collodion tintypes – a photographic process from the 1800’s which uses a large-format film camera, printing the image onto an aluminium wet-plate coated in the wet collodion chemicals. This is a part of my practice I’ve previously had to put on hold in favour of more cost-effective solutions, but thanks to this bursary I’ve been able to further learn about it and use this method to reproduce family photographs.
Without the bursary from Stewarts, I would have had to work throughout the week to sustain living and material costs, but now I only need to work over the holidays and every other weekend – it’s meant that I can spend my weeks in the studio, at lectures and experimenting in the workshops, and for that I am extremely grateful. My practice has already begun to develop and flourish thanks to the bursary – thank you so much!
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The Stewarts Foundation
The Foundation was set up in 2010 to formalise and manage the firm’s charitable giving with a vision to:
- Create opportunities for the disadvantaged in our society
- Treat people less fortunate than ourselves with compassion and respect
- Make a substantial social impact
Each year the Stewarts Foundation supports a small number of charities carefully selected by its trustees through its grant-giving programme.
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