Recipients of the 2020 SAM Alumni Creative Residency & Grant

UNSW School of the Arts and Media are delighted to announce the recipients of the 2020 SAM Alumni Creative Residency & Grant – Alexandra Spence, Michael Brady and Mohini Herse.

Alexandra Spence (Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Arts, 2012) is an artist and musician whose practice draws from phenomenology, psychogeography and acoustic ecology to examine how our individual notions of place and identity are shaped through sound. This residency will allow her to create a new performance work that deconstructs the distinctions between installation and performance within sound-art practice.

Alexandra will also spend time in the SAM recording studio working towards the release of a new album.

Alexandra Spence. Credit: Andre Chan

“This is an exciting opportunity that will grant me the time and space necessary for artistic research, reflection, and creation,” says Alexandra, upon finding out that she was awarded the residency. “Having access to resources and funding support is a rare opportunity for focused work development within a dedicated period of time.”

Mohini Herse (Bachelor of Media and Production, 2012) is an independent director and designer from Sydney who directed Australia’s first Instagram series, The Out There. She is the director of a new web series HAIR, a seven-part web series funded by Screen Australia that explores the tangled relationship we have with hair and with ourselves. The SAM Alumni Residency will provide Mohini with production and post-production facilities and equipment to develop HAIR.

“As an alumni, UNSW has always been a special place for me creatively. I feel incredibly privileged to once again have access to the incredible resources and professional mentorship that the campus has on offer. HAIR will be utilising the support of UNSW for our production (filming, rehearsing) and post production phases (editing, grading and animating).”

Mohini Herse, writer/director of HAIR

Michael Brady (Bachelor of Music, 2018) will be producing a new body of work with his Jazz trio, Brady//Donkin//Phipps, to develop his compositional & improvisational practice. Michael will be mentored by UNSW Music Lecturers Dr. Sandy Evans and Alister Spence and hold an open showing in Io Myers Studio, with plans to tour this new work in late-2020 and 2021.

Michael Brady

“I am both surprised and extremely excited to have received this opportunity. The opportunity to work closely on a new body of work with two leaders in my craft, and to perform in a space like Io Myers, is something that I am infinitely grateful for.”

SAM and the Creative Practice Lab are incredibly proud of the expansive talent held by our Alumni and are looking forward to supporting their projects this year.

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The SAM Alumni Residency & Grant awards up to $5,000 and four weeks of rehearsal space, as well as equipment from the Technical Resource Centre. Applications for 2021 to be announced – follow our Facebook page and join our mailing list to receive updates.