Katelyn Geard is a visual artist from Tarleton. Katelyn had just finished her year 12 at Don College when she received the Helen Jones OAM Memorial Arts Bursary.
2019 saw Katelyn commence her Bachelor of Fine Arts at UTAS in Hobart. Although a student, Katelyn has numerous awards and exhibition credits to her name and has completed a number of paid commissions.
Just days after receiving the news about the bursary, Katelyn was awarded the Abel Tasman Art Prize, run by the Kingsborough Council and involving a trip to the Netherlands.
When asked about what being a recipient of the bursary meant to Katelyn, she responded: ‘I am so grateful… Art has been a passion and even a form of emotional support for me over the course of high school and college and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to pursue my passion and turn that into a career. Without the assistance of a bursary I may not have been able to afford to further my study into university level and pursue my interest in the visual arts’.
At the end of Katelyn’s first year at university, she checked in with an update: ‘My first year as a Bachelor of Fine Arts student has been incredible… Moving to Hobart with the help of the bursary has given me access to great resources such as MONA and the chance to be taught by some amazing Tasmanian artists. During the winter break between semesters I travelled to the Netherlands where I spent three weeks living with host families and visiting museums such as Van Gough Museum and Rijks Museum. During the year I have focused on mediums of printmaking and drawing and I have been shortlisted as a finalist in the Tasmanian Portrait Prize… I have used the bursary to buy art materials…and other materials required for my classes. This bursary has been a huge help in pursuing my passion for visual arts and I am so thankful for such and opportunity. I feel the opportunities the bursary has helped provide have allowed me to really engage with my degree and the art community within Tasmania.’