Grantees talk about their graduation

Every year in the Foundation’s calendar, a very special thing happens: the grantees who we’ve supported graduate from their university courses.

From a magical realist multidisciplinary performance to public sculpture designed for a city park, their graduation projects are full of flair and demonstrate an appetite for social change. So to mark the occasion, and share some of their fascinating insights, we decided to ask about their creative projects and plans for the future.

Elleanna Chapman

Installation detail courtesy Elleanna Chapman.

Elleanna Chapman is an interdisciplinary artist, interested in the role that art plays politically. She graduated from The Ruskin School of Art, Oxford in Fine Arts, in England.

Can you tell us a little bit about your graduation project?

“‘Oh, how times have changed!’ is an installation that features a wall collage, trinkets and a beautiful vintage table, on top of which sits an oversized turntable from the 1980s. Viewers are invited to turn on the turntable, which plays a tinny rendition of the song ‘Walls Come Tumbling Down’ by The Style Council.

“For the work, I utilized cuttings from 1970s Spare Rib issues (a feminist magazine) and Socialist Appeal newspapers (now The Communist) from the 1980s to the 2000s. As well as being aesthetically nostalgic, I showed old slogans and headlines from the past to comment on our current political climate; arguing that as the unrelenting wheel of capitalism continues to turn, times really haven't changed.”

What's next for you after your studies?

“Having just graduated from the University of Oxford, I will be moving to London where I am hoping to continue to develop my practice. I will be spinning many, many plates, as always. I will also be working as a producer for the Grafters Collective, an artist-led network for working-class artists, founded by my friend, artist and curator Jennifer Jones. Thanks to the generous support from The Supporting Act Foundation, I will also work two days a week as an artist, paying myself a stipend from my Creative Bursary.”

If you had one piece of advice for an artist at the start of their journey, what would it be?

“FIND YOUR FRIENDS! It can be hard to 'find your tribe' in the art world, especially if you don't already have pre-existing family connections. Nonetheless, there will be other artists out there from a similar background or in a similar situation to you. The art world can be very hostile and competitive—but that doesn't mean you have to buy into that yourself. This won't fix all your problems, or the deep-rooted elitism of the arts, but it will make things just that much better when you don't feel as though you are going at it alone.”

Angelo Ormskerk

Courtesy Angelo Ormskerk. Photo by Marion Visser

Angelo Ormskerk explores questions of (in)justice, working in an interdisciplinary way and often with a strong connection to music. He graduated from the Amsterdam University of the Arts in Theatre Directing, in the Netherlands.

Can you tell us a little bit about your graduation project?

“During my graduation phase, I sought a working method and organizational structure where all disciplines in interdisciplinary theater could have equal space to reach their maximum artistic potential. 

“In developing such a workable form, my idea was to involve the choreographer, video-, lighting-, and sound designers at the beginning of the artistic process to contribute artistically to the scenography and set design. These are disciplines that are typically involved much later in the process. I was able to apply this approach for the first time in my graduation performance with positive results.”

What's next for you after your studies?

“I have been hired by a theater production house in Haarlem where I can apply my working method and organizational structure in the professional field for the first time.

“In 2025, I will be working on a piece that will tour high schools. For this concept I was inspired by the book ‘Teaching to Transgress’ by Bell Hooks. And in 2026, I will do an adaptation of the Greek tragedy Medea, in which I will shine a light on the poignant stories of people who were victimized by the Dutch government in a child benefits scandal."

If you had one piece of advice for an artist at the start of their journey, what would it be?

"Take notes from those that listen to you and understand what your art practice is about."

Melli Erzuah

Courtesy Melli Erzuah. Photo by Nigisti.

As an artist and facilitator, Melli Erzuah’s greatest joy is collective singing. They graduated from the Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin in Social Work, in Germany.

Can you tell us a little bit about your graduation project?

“I explored how collective singing can be used as a Black feminist practice that inspires and motivates societal change. I realized how much fear people have about their singing voice—taking up space, being heard, listening and authentic expression. But what emerges when we let our voices open new pathways of expression?”

What's next for you after your studies?

“I am coaching creatives and artists who want to get to know their voice as a tool to re-connect to their creative power. It’s beautiful to guide through the exploration process of new pathways for expression to bring art into the world that inspires authenticity, change and community. 

“Alongside that, I will also be directing an elementary school choir in Berlin, facilitating vocal soundscape workshops at conferences, retreats, exhibitions and voice empowerment sessions for team building.”  

If you had one piece of advice for an artist at the start of their journey, what would it be?

“Really get into your practice and allow it to emerge anew. Your practice is what keeps you connected to your creative source. This is your life force. Explore that source, get to how it feels.”

Halar Soomro

Courtesy Halar Soomro.

Halar Soomro is an artist and cultural explorer working with performance, archives, and film as his primary instruments. He graduated from the Maastricht Institute of Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts, in the Netherlands.

Can you tell us a little bit about your graduation project?

“‘Ghar: Frames of recollected memories’ is a multimedia installation that invites the audience into the journey of recollected, restored and reformed memories of my beloved grandmother, Fareeda Khatoon.

“Central to the installation is a short video work documenting my grandmother, a Bombay soul in a post 1947 Karachi, as she looks back at her life and identity sculpted from the fragments of a divided homeland.”

What's next for you after your studies?

“I want to solidify my presence in the art-research sphere of decolonial South Asia. I want to approach this by developing my current work to reflect my absolute admiration for the role music-based nostalgia plays in the identity of a diasporic body. I am planning to travel back to South and South- East Asia sporadically over the next few months to trace the role of music in nostalgia and diasporic identities.”

If you had one piece of advice for an artist at the start of their journey, what would it be?

“Never let an institute dictate your potential. The capacities that are held within your love for the motherland are immense, and these capacities can contribute positively to our collective human experiences.”

Saman Mahdavi

Courtesy Saman Mahdavi. Photo credit Gergely Ofner.

Saman Mahdavi is a versatile artist who seamlessly integrates images (taswir), text, performance installations, and videos into her multidisciplinary practice. They graduated from the Amsterdam University of the Arts, School of New Dance Development in the Netherlands.

Can you tell us a little bit about your graduation project?

“‘My therapist is a volcano’ is a multidisciplinary performance in the genre of magical realism. It tells the story of multigenerational grief and survival, beginning with a dinosaur from the Middle East who survived and didn’t go extinct and transformed many times over time. In this project, we hear one of the therapy sessions.”

What's next for you after your studies?

“I am planning to work deeper on my portfolio and work between the Middle East and Europe, collaborating with more artists who don’t have direct access to the system of funding in Europe and expand the network of solidarity and imagination.”

If you had one piece of advice for an artist at the start of their journey, what would it be?

“When the history we are living is the history of struggles and dehumanization, the history of art we are making must be the history of our solidarity and collective imagination. The most important things to invest our efforts on to heal our imagination and society.”

Diren Demir

Courtesy Diren Demir.

Diren Demir is a Berlin-based interdisciplinary artist and independent curator. They graduated from Marmara University Istanbul, in Fine Arts & Sculpture, in Turkey (via Germany).

Can you tell us a little bit about your graduation project?

“‘Shelter’, which is a public sculpture designed for a city park in Kadıköy. During the production of my graduation work, I was inspired by collective memories and shared experiences of the architectural structures we constructed from the sofa cushions in the living room of the house in our childhood. 

“The Shelter sculpture is a modernist representation of architectural spaces created by the child's hand from pillows. The sculpture can be entered individually, it creates a harmonious contrast between private and public space.”

What's next for you after your studies?

“I am currently writing a mystery fiction book about a sex worker living in Christopher Street in the 60's. I started writing this book about 6-7 years ago; It is quite nostalgic and exciting for me to be drawn back to this writing process. After my immigration experience, my connection with my mother tongue has weakened considerably—I have even lost fluency in my own language. Writing this book, which I started in my mother tongue, seems to give me back my ability to think in my own language. As much as I have focused on my academic development over the past long period of time, I now wish to deepen my independent thinking and creation process that can flourish outside of academia.”

If you had one piece of advice for an artist at the start of their journey, what would it be?

“Don't underestimate the power of your spontaneous inspirations!"