Lauren Theunissen is the 2016/17 TIERNEY fellow
This is a prestigious and generous award, that is intended to support an emerging artist, in the field of photography. The judges thought that Lauren’s work was very well thought out and executed and that her book making is very close to todays photographic trends.
The Tierney Fellowship was created in 2003 by the Tierney Family Foundation to support emerging artists in the field of photography. The primary goal of the Fellowship is to find tomorrow’s distinguished artists and leaders in the world of photography and to assist them in overcoming the challenges that a photographer faces at the beginning of his or her career.
The aim of the fellowshipis twofold: encouraging fellowship recipients to produce a new body of workand creating a global community of artists that functions as a crucial support network in an increasingly competitive field. The Fellowship supports the recipients both financially, by way of a grant, and technically and conceptually, with mentorship and guidance from seasoned experts. Fellows remain an important part of the programme after the conclusion of their fellowship. Seminars and critiques are held throughout the year to facilitate interaction between all current and past recipients, encouraging discussion about their photography, work experience and lives as artists.
Tierney fellows have been selected from prominent art schools and universities in the US, Mexico, China, India and South Africa including: Academia de Artes Visuales, Bard College, Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo, International Centre of Photography, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Parsons the New School for Design, School of Visual Arts,Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing, Fotomedia in Delhi, and Yale University School of Art. The Tierney Fellowship programme ran for the first time in South Africa in 2008. In South Africa, partner intuitions include WITS School of Arts, UCT’s Michaelis School of Fine Art and the Market Photo Workshop. Since 2015 only the South African fellowships have been funded.
In order to support the fellows mentors are mentored internally (from within the host institution). These mentors include Svea Josephy and Jean Brundrit, Jo Ractliffe, Rory Bester and John Fleetwood. Fellows are also mentored by experts in the field. In the last years these have included Stephen Shore, David Goldbaltt, Nontobeko Ntombela, Pieter Hugo, Mikhael Subotzky and guests who come to the workshops to give input, such as Santu Mofekeng, Stephen Hobbs, Tracey Rose, Tembinkosi Goniwe, Dave Southwood,Roger Ballen, Penny Siopis, Berni Searle, Jane Alexander, Paul Weinberg, Jeremy Wafer, Kathryn Smith, Patricia Hayes, Guy Tillim, Michael Godby, Stephen Inggs, Jane Alexander, Noeleen Murray, Hasan and Husein Essop, Riason Naidoo, Rael Salley, Mary Sibande, Dan Halter, Hentie van der Merwe, Kurt Campbell, Sakhela Buhlungu and Leslie Witz.
http://www.uct.ac.za/news/multimedia/photo_albums/weeklygallery/#WalkingTheCity