University News Last updated 28 July 2011
Talented students from Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) at Birmingham City University have been awarded travel bursaries in recognition of their excellence in art and design.
The Louisa Ann Ryland travel scholarship was established in 1876 and offered to undergraduates at Birmingham Institute of Art and Design who had been selected by their Course Directors. This year a total of £4,500 has been awarded.
Louisa Anne Ryland (1814 – 1889) was born in Edgbaston, Birmingham and was a reclusive spinster and philanthropist who by prudent investment and financial management used her fortune to benefit the people of Birmingham. She contributed to recreation, worship, education and public health in the City and to further the development of young artists, she was the chief contributor to the Birmingham Government School of Ornamental Art, on the corner of Edmund Street and Margaret Street, now known as the Department of Art at Birmingham Institute of Art & Design (BIAD). In 1876 she endowed a fund for student travel scholarships which is still being awarded annually. This year a total of £4,500 has been awarded to BIAD students.
Professor Chris O’Neil, Executive Dean of BIAD, along with Robin Smith-Ryland, a direct descendant of Louisa Anne Ryland, presented students with cheques at this year’s award ceremony.
Winners included Textile design student Alydia Cooper, Jewellery and Silversmithing student Clara Jackson and Landscape Architecture student Ian Hainsworth. All three students were awarded the ‘top prize’ of £1000. Interior Design student Catherine Mone, Fine Art student Grace Williams and Textile Design student Ruth Heatley were awarded £500 each.
Prize winner Ian Hainsworth is planning on spending his prize money on a trip to Brazil. He said: “I am particularly interested in the importance of planting in public space, expanding the range of potential solutions, as well as how culture can be celebrated and included in the design process. My proposed visit to Brazil would help me to consider new ways of practising and different approaches to current public space opportunities.”
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design is an international centre for excellence in art, design and subjects supporting the creative industries. One of the largest institutes for art, architecture and design in the country – the largest outside London – its students, graduates and staff practitioners form a substantial creative community.