If successful, I would use The Dover Prize bursary to undertake a significant step-change in my practice by deeply researching and integrating traditional Japanese woodblock printmaking (Mokuhanga) techniques with my established screenprinting methods. My current work explores identity through layering and repetition in screenprinting, performance, and video, often focusing on the Black feminine lens and experiences within the diaspora. This award offers the crucial time and resources to expand my technical vocabulary and conceptual framework.
The funding would primarily support travel to Japan for an intensive period of study and research. This aligns directly with the Prize’s aim to support artists seeking inspiration and development through travel and training. Funds would cover:
Travel costs to and accommodation in Japan.
Tuition for specialist workshops in Mokuhanga from master practitioners.
Materials specific to woodblock printing and for experimental integration with screenprinting upon return.
Research visits to relevant collections and print studios in Japan.
This opportunity would allow me to explore new material approaches to my core themes of identity, memory, and multiplicity. Learning Mokuhanga, with its distinct methods of registration, water-based pigments, and hand-printing, offers a different sensibility to layering and image creation compared to screenprinting. Integrating these techniques would enrich my visual language, enabling new forms of expression related to cultural dialogue, texture, and nuance. This experimentation directly supports the Prize’s goal of fostering fresh perspectives and new methods.
Ultimately, I aim to develop a new body of work – likely incorporating print, and potentially video/performance elements informed by this research – that merges these distinct print traditions. This work would premiere in Darlington, fulfilling the Prize requirements and representing a significant evolution in my artistic practice, pushing the boundaries of contemporary printmaking.
My project, supported by The Dover Prize, would enhance Darlington’s creative arts profile in two key ways. Firstly, I plan to actively engage with the local community by delivering screenprinting workshops. Drawing on my experience and passion for printmaking, these workshops would offer accessible, hands-on creative opportunities for Darlington residents, fostering local participation in the visual arts and sharing skills directly.
Secondly, the final work premiered in Darlington would be the culmination of international research and experimentation, specifically blending traditional Japanese woodblock techniques with contemporary screenprinting. Presenting this unique, cross-cultural body of work in Darlington would bring a distinct artistic voice and innovative printmaking approach to the area. This exposure to internationally informed contemporary art, combined with direct community engagement through workshops, would contribute significantly to the vibrancy and profile of the creative arts scene in Darlington, showcasing the town as a place where ambitious, globally-connected art is developed and shared.
My artistic practice explores identity, particularly how it shifts, is perceived, and expressed, drawing from my perspective as a Black woman living between Syracuse, New York, and Glasgow, Scotland. My work is deeply engaged with emotion, aiming to be felt as much as seen, often focusing on how feelings manifest physically through movement and repetition. I seek to capture fleeting moments of joy, hesitation, realization, and release. Screenprinting is a primary medium, used for its ability to multiply and transform images, mirroring the layered and fluid nature of identity and community. This extends into video and performance, incorporating movement, sound, and music (especially Afro-diasporic rhythms and pop culture references) as essential storytelling elements to explore collective memory, self-perception, and emotional truths. Performance acts as an embodiment of the ideas in my prints, using repetition and gesture to explore self-discovery, power, and vulnerability. My work creates space for self-love and affirmation while also questioning tensions between visibility and invisibility, asking how we know ourselves and how others see us. It’s an invitation to reflect on self-expression, individuality, and community. Recent exhibitions include:
WAIT A MINUTE?!! at Glasgow Print Studio (2025)
NURTURE | TURTLE PARK at Tramway, Glasgow (2024)
WHAT A FEELING | ACT II at Take Me Somewhere Festival, Tramway, Glasgow (October 2023)
WHAT A FEELING | ACT I at Edinburgh Printmakers (2023)
The Printmaker’s Art | Rembrandt to Rego at National Galleries of Scotland (2023)
Sunkissed at Kypseli Print Studio, Athens (2022)
REFLECTIVE JESTER: IT’S JUST A FEELING at CCA Glasgow (2021)
Several group shows in 2021, including at Jupiter Artland, Glasgow International, and Tramway.
Do you have a degree in visual or applied arts at undergraduate and/or post-graduate level? Please provide details. (200 words)
Yes, I hold both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in visual arts: Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from The Glasgow School of Art, obtained in 2018. Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, obtained in 2016. Additionally, I participated in a foreign exchange program at Universität der Künste Berlin in 2015.
Yes, I hold both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in visual arts:
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from The Glasgow School of Art, obtained in 2018.
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, obtained in 2016.
Additionally, I participated in a foreign exchange program at Universität der Künste Berlin in 2015.
Yes, I have received several professional grants and awards, including:
Jerwood New Work Fund, UK (2023)
John Florent Stone Residency Award, Edinburgh College of Art / Edinburgh Printmakers (2022)
Shortlisted for the Margaret Tait Award, LUX Scotland (2021)
Hope Scott Trust grant, Glasgow (2020)
a-n Artist Bursary, UK (2019)
Selected Artist for Bloomberg New Contemporaries (2018)
Awarded an honorary membership to Glasgow Sculpture Studios (2018)
Most Engaging Work Award, POWER PLAY, Winter Salon, The Concept Space, London (2018)
Full Tuition Scholarship to The Cooper Union (2012-2016)
Yes, the CV lists performances and commissions, including work presented at public institutions. Examples include:
WHAT A FEELING | ACT II commissioned for Take Me Somewhere Festival at Tramway, Glasgow (October 2023). Tramway is a public contemporary visual and performing arts venue.
DA BE A BE performance as part of Nick Cave: Call and Response for Dance International Glasgow at Tramway, Glasgow (2019).
CC TIME performance for Take Me Somewhere Festival at Tramway, Glasgow (2018).
Yes, my artwork has been acquired by public collections. These include:
Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), Glasgow, Scotland.
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.
2023 Features/Reviews: BBC The Afternoon Show, BBC The Culture Scene, The Skinny, The List, Fleming Collection,
Scottish Art News, SCAN, Fest Magazine, Scotsman, Art Mag, Widewalls, Alt A Review, The Independent, The Guardian.
2021 Feature: Subcity Radio.
2020 Feature: MAP Magazine.
2016 Feature: The Cooper Union website.
Yes, I have participated in several residencies:
Center For Somewhere, Take Me Somewhere / The Centre For the Less Good Idea, Johannesburg, South Africa (2023).
Kypseli Print Studio, Athens, Greece (2022).
John Florent Stone Printmaking Residency, Edinburgh College of Art / Edinburgh Printmakers, Scotland (2022).
Work Room Residency, Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland (2019 & 2023).
BUZZCUT Club Residency, Glasgow, Scotland (2019).
Creative Lab Residency, Centre of Contemporary Arts (CCA), Glasgow, Scotland (2018).
London Summer Intensive, Camden Arts Centre & Slade School of Fine Art, London, UK (2017).
Email: christiannoellestudio@gmail.com
Address: 258 Kenmure Street, Flat 2/2B, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, G41 2QY, GB
Local Authority: Glasgow City Council
