Hesketh Hubbard Bursaries 2024 | Winners

London's largest life drawing group, the Hesketh Hubbard Art Society, offers three free year-long membership bursaries to young artists aged between 18 and 30.

The winners may attend weekly life drawing sessions at Mall Galleries free of charge for a year.

Meet the winners of the Hesketh Hubbard Bursaries 2024, Amelia Cross, Zeynep Swanson, and Olly Williamson.

Amelia Cross

Amelia Cross (b. 1995) is a British artist based in London. Defining her work as feminist, figurative and confessional, Amelia’s practice is concerned with capturing the motions and inbetweeness within womanhood covering themes including gender, interiority, dysmorphia and longing. She works across drawing and painting as mediums in a deliberate and honest force, turning the ever-present negativity surrounding women oversharing their bodies, thoughts and desires into something tender and powerful.

Amelia Cross, I want this

Zeynep Swanson

Zeynep Swanson (b. 2004) is a New Zealand born, London grown and based 2D artist. Zeynep won the Winifred Knight’s art scholarship at sixth form, following which she studied a foundation diploma in fine arts at City & Guilds of London Art School, achieving a Merit in 2023. Currently she is a first year BAFA student at Central Saint Martins.

'I’m a 19 year old artist working primarily in acrylics and coloured pencils. I make figurative work which aims to explore the relationships between people and online spaces; within themselves and communal situations. I use line and colour to try and convey the beauty in the passive aspects of the human experience and at a push, try and convince the viewer of it.' - Zeynep Swanson

Zeynep Swanson, Sunkissed
 

Olly Williamson

Olly Williamson (b. 1994) grew up in a village outside of Preston. Before accepting a place on the Drawing Year, at the Royal Drawing School, he studied painting at the Manchester School of Art in 2016. He is currently making paintings and drawings in London.

"In a life of small instances and noticed details, I want to distil them into something as crystalline as possible. I believe there is mysticism through the mundane, and I strive to represent it as faithfully as possible." - Olly Williamson

Olly Williamson, On the bed

Olly Williamson