Find out about Fellowships, Scholarships, Bursaries and Residencies

Botanical artists benefit from opportunities for funding or tuition, 
which helps them develop their knowledge, skills and careers as botanical artists
This page covers
  • Fellowships
  • Travel Scholarships
  • Bursaries
  • Artist Residencies
Those specifically covered are:
  • Margaret Mee Fellowship Programme (Botanical Art) - Artist Scholars
  • Winston Churchill Memorial Trust - Travel Scholarships
  • RH - Dawn Joliffe Bursary Award
  • Royal College of Physicians - Artist in Residence​

Please let me know of any other opportunities worth highlighting to those endeavouring to develop their education, experience and skills.

Fellowships 

Margaret Mee Fellowship Programme
​(Botanical Art)
Objectives
  • Promoting the ideals of Margaret Mee, The Margaret Mee Fellowship Programme (MMFP) currently endeavours to provide funding in any year to enable one Artist Scholar to be tutored, at Kew, for five months by Christabel King.
Outputs
  • Ten plant watercolour portraits from each Artist Scholar.
  • An exhibition of each Artist Scholar's work (their portfolio often including their competition submissions) at the end of their time at Kew.

The MMFP (administered by the Foundation and Friends of the RBG Kew) enables Brazilian botanical illustrators to study in the UK. 
Gustavo Marigo is one of the Margaret Mee Scholars - funded by the Margaret Mee Fellowship - who are taught at Kew by Christobel King. Marigo was the MM Scholar in Botanical Art in 2015. They are pictured in the Brazil - a powerhouse of plants exhibition at Kew in 2016 - see Christobel King and the Margaret Mee Artist Scholars​

​Banner Image: Gustavo Marigo with two of his paintings at Kew
Gustavo Marigo is an award winning natural history and botanical illustrator (MM Scholar 2015). In 2016 he won 2nd prize in the Margaret Flockton Award and had three of his paintings (purchased by Shirley Sherwood) included in 'Brazil - A Powerhouse of Plants' exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew. Currently he works on illustration commissions for scientific articles and books and teaches via workshops at the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro plus classes, courses and private lessons. 

Margaret Mee Fellowship Programme Artist Scholars at Kew
​

1989-1999
​
  • Malena Barretto, Rio de Janeiro, 1989
  • Dulce Nascimento, Rio de Janeiro, 1990
  • Hiroe Sasaki, São Paulo, 1991
  • Maria Teresa Reif, Rio de Janeiro, 1992
  • Cecília Tomasi, São Paulo, 1993
  • Regina Julianelle, Rio de Janeiro, 1994
  • Paulo Ormindo, Rio de Janeiro, 1995
  • Sílvia Cordeiro, Belém, 1996
  • Diana Carneiro, Curitiba, 1997
  • Sérgio Allevato, Rio de Janeiro, 1998
  • Fatima Zagonel, Curitiba, 1999
2000-2009
​
  • Anelise Scherer, São Leopoldo, 2000
  • Marcos Silva, Brasilia, 2001
  • Jeanitto Gentilini, Brasilia, 2002
  • Ana Carolina Bassi Cunha, Curitiba, 2003
  • Maria Alice de Rezende, Rio de Janeiro, 2004
  • Rosane Quintella, Curitiba, 2005 
  • Renato Moraes, Rio de Janeiro, 2006
  • Parecis Morato, São Paulo, 2007
  • no scholarship 2008
  • Isabel Lima del Siva Belo Horizonte 2009
2010- date
​
  • no scholarships 2010 - 2014
  • Gustavo Marigo, Rio de Janeiro 2015
  • Alessandro Cândido, Curitiba 2016
  • no scholarship 2017
  • Gustavo Surlo, Salvador, Bahia 2018


Picture
Sketch of Margaret Mee's Paintbox on display at Kew Gardens

Travel Scholarships

Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
​
Botanical artists have successfully applied for travel scholarships to paint plants in different parts of the world.  

The Trust will NOT fund:
  • projects which only benefit the individual and show no potential for wider benefit
  • applications for art projects that will result in only an exhibition, and have no benefits beyond raising the profile and expertise of the individual 

EXAMPLE: Caroline Frances-King was awarded a travelling fellowship to travel to China to paint plants discovered by the Irish plant collector Augustine Henry in the late 1800’s.

Bursaries

RHS - Dawn Joliffe Botanical Art Award
​
This is the only RHS Bursary dedicated to botanical art.

The Dawn Jolliffe Botanical Art Bursary was established in in June 2005 to
EITHER: assist a botanical artist to exhibit at one of the RHS shows,
OR: to travel in order to paint and/or draw plants in their natural habitats.

In terms of who can apply for the bursary:
  • Preference will be given to artists who are not yet established.
  • The value of the award will be up to a maximum of £1,000.
  • This bursary is to be awarded annually by the RHS Bursaries Committee in association with the RHS Picture Committee.
RHS Bursary recipients produce reports from their experiences which are judged by the RHS Bursaries & Awards Committee. The best of these reports receive prizes

Artists in Residence

Royal College of Physicians: Artist in Residence
​
 The Royal College of Physicians in London has had a medicinal garden since 1965. Since 2010 it has offered a one year residency for an artist. This involves an exhibition of the artwork produced at the end of the year.

EXAMPLE: The artists who have become artist in residence are:
Since 2015, the RCP have had a group of artists who worked to produce a Florilegium Exhibition for the RCO's 500th anniversary - see my blog post about the Illustrated College Herbal Exhibition at the Royal College of Physicians

I'm afraid I'm not aware of any proposals to resurrect the artist in residence scheme
PLEASE USE THE FORM to let me know about any any other opportunities - anywhere in the world - worth highlighting to those endeavouring to develop their education, experience and skills.

I need to know:
  • Type of Support
  • URL of website for further information
  • ​any constraints e.g. eligibility limited to residents of specific countries

    Fellowships, Scholarships, Bursaries, Grants and Artist Residencies
    ​
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