Image: Charlotte Tatton, exercise from New York Studio school drawing marathon (detail), 2024. Image courtesy the artist.
Guildhouse is thrilled to announce the 14 diverse visual artists, craftspeople and designers who will be supported through the 2024 Catapult Mentorship program.
Catapult provides South Australian artists with the critical funding and support they need to develop their artistic practice by engaging in an artist-led mentorship with established practitioners from Australia and beyond.
In 2024, Guildhouse has leveraged the generous support of its Creative Champions donor group, the City of Port Adelaide Enfield Council, Country Arts SA and the Country Arts Foundation to award seven Catapult mentorships to South Australian practitioners. Valued at $5,000-$8,000 per mentorship, the program financially boosts the practices of fourteen artists in the roles of mentees and mentors.
With applicants from all over South Australia, the 2024 Catapult cohort truly represents the breadth of artistic practice and skills in our state.
The Guildhouse Catapult Mentorship program is highly sought after and in 2024 there again was an exceptional number of applications from artists based all over South Australia, demonstrating the necessity of this unique program.
Guildhouse Interim CEO Merinda Edwards PhD, says, “I would like to acknowledge the high calibre of unique applications presented for this year’s Catapult mentorship program. We are excited to see stories evolve, and artists develop skills to realise their goals. I would like to highlight the generosity and support of our Creative Champions, who provide essential support for these wonderful opportunities alongside Country Arts SA and the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. We at Guildhouse are so proud to be a part of supporting artists flourish and help grow the innovative, creative tapestry of South Australia.”
Supported by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield (PAE) Council, one mentorship with expanded funding to the value of $8,000 was awarded to a resident of the council area, artist Charlotte Tatton, encouraging the development of ambitious goals to match.
Cat Conidi, City of PAE Placemaking and Activation Leader says, “Catapult has been an incredibly transformative program, enabling artists to connect with leaders in their field and grow their skills. Our partnership with Guildhouse delivers on our objective to unearth and nurture local talent, while supporting a resilient creative community across the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. We are excited to see what Charlotte achieves with this program and can’t wait to see her work progress.”
Emerging South Australian artist Charlotte Tatton will be undertaking a mentorship with painter Fran O’Neill to build upon the momentum of her practice addressing both creative and business aspects of her career. “I am excited to begin the Guildhouse Catapult mentorship program with Fran O’Neill, an abstract painter and faculty member at the New York Studio School. Fran’s focus on abstract patterns, along with her use of colour, space, and movement, aligns perfectly with my interests, offering fresh insights to push my work beyond representational imagery and into abstraction. With her guidance, I can fully embrace a playful, exploratory and I am eager to see this enhance both my technical and conceptual understanding of painting.”
Demonstrating Guildhouse’s commitment to regional South Australian artists, our partnership with Country Arts SA and the generous support of the Country Arts Foundation continues to provide funding dedicated to regional practitioners. The strength of regional applicants was outstanding with three regional artists awarded Catapult mentorships this year.
Country Arts SA Visual Arts Manager Lauren Mustillo says, “This year we saw an unprecedented level of participation from regional artists in the Catapult program, a testament to the significance of their practices within localised, statewide and national arts ecologies. The selected recipients put forward proposals which will propel and strengthen their careers, technical skill set, and concept development. We are thrilled to see them supported and will be eagerly following their journey.”
Guildhouse completed a four-year study in partnership with the University of South Australia on the impacts of mentorships on artistic career development. The final report encompasses rich qualitative research with mentorship participants and can be read in full on the Guildhouse website.
2024 Catapult Recipients:
Charlotte Tatton with Fran O’Neill
Emerging artist Charlotte Tatton will work with contemporary abstract artist Fran O’Neill to explore palettes, large-scale paintings, collage, and expand her conceptual and professional development.
Emma Fuss with Lori Pensini
Regional artist Emma Fuss will work with Western Australian based artist Lori Pensini to push boundaries and expand the concepts and narratives within her work.
Georgina Mills with Abdul-Rahman Abdullah
Figurative sculptor Georgina Mills will work with sculpture and installation artist Abdul-Rahman Abdullah to deepen concepts and explore how the traditional foundations of her work can evolve in contemporary settings.
John ‘Bundy’ Bannerman with Karl Meyer
Artist John ‘Bundy’ Bannerman will undertake a mentorship with artist and designer Karl Meyer to expand his painting practice and develop sculpture and installation skills.
Lottie Emma with Kasia Tons
Regionally based textile artist Lottie Emma will work with Kasia Tons to refine technical skills, enhance conceptual articulation and develop an authentic, experimental textile practice.
Rebecca Flack with Yan Palmer
Regional photographer Rebecca Flack will work with Utah-based photographer Yan Palmer to foster a more intentional creative path and enhance storytelling in her practice.
Teresa Busuttil with Ania Freer
Multidisciplinary artist Teresa Busuttil with work with Australian-Jamaican artist, curator and filmmaker Ania Freer to explore cultural connections, storytelling, identity and maintaining an international practice.
Image: Charlotte Tatton, exercise from New York Studio school drawing marathon, 2024. Image courtesy the artist.
Every donation made though our Creative Champion donor program goes directly to the artists involved in our game changing Catapult mentorship program. Applications for Catapult outnumber available opportunities year on year, and we are seeking new supporters to be able to award more. To find out more about how you can become a Creative Champion, see here.
