Hesketh Hubbard Bursaries 2025 | Winners Announced

/ Hesketh Hubbard Art Society

Collage of life drawing examples from HH Bursaries 2025
Collage of life drawing examples from HH Bursaries 2025

Announcement of the winners of the Hesketh Hubbard Bursaries 2025...

Hesketh Hubbard Bursaries | Winners

To address a shortage of life drawing opportunities available to young artists, London's largest life drawing group, the Hesketh Hubbard Art Society, annually award bursaries to artists aged between 18 and 30.

Each winner receives a free year-long membership to the Society starting in January 2025. 

This year there was a record-breaking number of submissions and the standard was particularly high. Thank you to all the artists that took the time to apply.

We are delighted to announce this year's winners:

Chloe Barnes

Chloe Barnes jpg

I've had to rely on photographic references, which I feel have limited my ability to capture the human form with the same expressive mark-making... I've come to realise that I need to work predominantly from life to fully embrace the spontaneity, intuition, and raw emotion that observational drawing brings to my work

Chloe Barnes, HH Bursary Recipient 2025

Chloe is known for her expressive, figurative monotypes that explore themes of identity, emotion, and the experiences of women, including her own. Through distorted forms, her work invites viewers to imagine themselves as the subject of each scene, empowering them to see themselves in new ways. 

Chloe Barnes 2 png

Paul Majek

Paul Majek jpg

Paul Majek is an artist based in London finishing The Drawing Year at the Royal Drawing School. His work delves into landscapes of memory, generational dialogues, and spirituality. He uses many mediums, including oil, acrylic and charcoal, to create deeply layered surfaces often exploring personal narratives within domestic spaces. 

I am especially excited about the chance to draw from life amongst other passionate artists who are as deeply invested in drawing as myself

Paul Majek, HH Bursary Recipient 2025
Paul Majek 2 png

Zoë Wilkinson

Zoe Wilkinson jpg

Zoë is an emerging artist of British and Guyanese origin. Her work is predominantly concerned with the concept of 'homeland'. She draws from the visual language of Caribbean Gothic to create critical paintings and sketches that are infused with commentary on colonialism, racism, and patriarchy. When working in acrylic and oil, she often uses saturated colour palettes to depict dream-like scenes that oscillate between haziness and clarity. 

Working solely from photographs has meant that I only have a partial understanding of the human form. Therefore, the opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of the human figure through life drawing would mean that I could learn to depict scenes that I can only access through memory

Zoë Wilkinson, HH Bursary Recipient 2025
Zoe Wilkinson 2 png

Shortlist for the Hesketh Hubbard Bursaries 2025

Painting of a woman sat on a bed in a yellow coat
Verity Ure-Jones

Specialising in contemporary portraiture, Verity's work delves into the intricacies of womanhood. View her work exhibited in the ROI Annual Exhibition 2024

Drawing of three people at a table in a restaurant
Ewan White

Ewan is an award-winning painter from London who has studied at the Royal Drawing School and the Slade School of Fine Art. He has previous exhibited at the Mall Galleries during the NEAC Annual Exhibition 2020.

painting of a woman lying on a bed looking at a lamp
Jenna Waldren

Recently appearing on Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, Jenna's practice is deeply rooted in the act of looking. She documents glimmers of the everyday that celebrate the beauty of human connection. 

About us

We empower artists through our not-for-profit programme

Join our mailing list

Receive the latest updates and announcements

Art Consultancy

Our Art Consultancy specialises in commissioning and curating fine art.

Find Out More

Venue Hire

Located in Central London, Mall Galleries offers over 450sqm of dedicated space, perfect for your next exhibition or event.

Find Out More

Connect with us

Mall Galleries is closed for the holidays until Sunday 12 January 2025